From Kuromorimine
by Sduffy
Summary: Like Miho, Ayako Ishiguro has transferred from Kuromorimine to a smaller school. Unlike Miho, she did not want to leave. Can she introduce Kuromorimine's ethos at True North High and get closure for the defeats she has suffered? Disclaimer: Girls und Panzer is copyright Actas and Girls und Panzer Projekt. I do not own anything except for the original characters herein.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**In Which Ayako Ishiguro Meets Her Team and is Dismayed**_

Ayako Ishiguro stared at True North High School's unimpressive sensha-dō team hangar.

It was a single Nissen hut in the thirty foot span pattern, not exactly decrepit but showing signs of age and wear: some rust streaks down its sides and peeling paint on the red façade. It stood on its own in a corner of the campus some distance away from the other buildings, like an unpopular younger sibling banished to the opposite side of the room.

It was a far cry from the facilities at Kuromorimine.

She hadn't wanted to leave, of course, but the company her father and mother worked for had opened an office in Aomori prefecture. They had both been assigned as team leaders at the new location and had insisted that she move with them. She had tried arguing that she could continue on at Kuromorimine and visit their new home during the holidays, but her parents believed that the family should stay close together.

"It is almost the whole length of the country away from Kuromorimine's home port," her father had said. "And besides, a change of scenery will do you good. It broadens the mind and improves adaptability." Ayako also had a sneaking suspicion that they didn't particularly approve of her old school.

So she had moved as well, with many sullen silences.

The farewell party with her old sensha-dō teammates had been an awkward affair. They had all wished her luck and said all the right understanding words, but there had been an undercurrent of dismissal. The other problem was that none of them knew how to have a good time at a party.

The worst thing, though, the thing that gnawed at her, was what was left unfinished.

She had been at Kuromorimine for two years. During her first year, the team had lost for the first time in nine years to those arrogant fools from Pravda High School. The next year had been far worse, with the upstarts from Ōarai, outgunned and outnumbered, humiliating them on a national stage. It was enough to make her think that she was bad luck. And now, she would not have the chance to help rectify the situation at the next National Championship.

She would have to make the best of things. It was a popular saying of her father's. The very first day at her new, much smaller school, she had tried to find out if they had a sensha-dō program. It had occurred to her that it would be somewhat improbable for a small school she had never heard of to be involved in the sport. None of the students she talked to knew if a team existed. It certainly wasn't on the list of electives. Then, just when she had resigned herself to being tankless, as it were, she had spied a yellowing piece of paper pinned to a noticeboard, advertising for new sensha- dō team members. Someone had hand-illustrated the flyer enthusiastically with an odd juxtaposition of armoured vehicles, stars and hearts.

So here she was. She tried the door of the hut, found it unlocked, and strode through.

"Heads up!"

A red and white blur swerved to avoid her, hit the wall and rebounded to land flat on its back on the concrete floor. She realized it was a girl in hockey gear wearing rollerblades. She stared in fascination. Was she hurt? Should she call for help? A tennis ball that the girl had been using as a puck rolled slowly towards the shadows in the back of the building.

"How's ya getten' on, b'y?"

Another girl with short black hair and green eyes was sitting in an old office chair, spinning around in it idly. She was wearing the school's uniform of a maroon blazer with white piping, white dress shirt, red and blue striped tie and a plaid skirt.

"I'm OK." The first girl sat up and used her hockey stick to lever herself back onto her skates. "Sorry about that, eh?" she said, addressing Ayako.

"I apologize for distracting you," said Ayako. "I am Ishiguro."

Hockey girl pulled off her glove and offered her hand. "I'm Hayley. That's Liza-san over in the chair." Liza gave her a friendly wave.

"Are you with the school's sensha- dō team?" asked Ayako, shaking hands with Hayley. "That's why I am here. I saw the advertisement for new members."

Hayley and Liza looked blank. "We gots an advertisement?" Liza asked Hayley.

Comprehension dawned on Hayley's face. "Oh yeah, I remember that. That's been up since… uh… well, before I came here anyway." She took off her helmet revealing shoulder length blond hair. "So, you want to join, eh?"

"I do," said Ayako. "I have two years of experience as loader and second-in-command in a Panther Ausf. G tank. I was with Kuromorimine before I transferred here," she finished proudly.

Hayley whistled. "The big guns, eh? Too bad about the finals."

"Yes," said Ayako shortly, attempting to forestall any further discussion about the Championship.

"Those Ōarai girls really ran rings around ya there, b'y," said Liza sympathetically.

"Remember how they took out the Maus?" said Hayley. "That was hilarious!"

"And when the Jagdtiger went into that ditch! Lard tunderin', I handy 'bout died b'y!"

They both giggled at the memories, but stopped when they saw Ayako's expression.

_Two years ago, no one would have been laughing at my old school_, Ayako thought. Then Liza's words registered.

"Why do you talk like that?" she demanded.

"I am speaking in the dialect used by the inhabitants of Newfoundland," said Liza seriously. "I understand it is rugged land populated by hardy fisher folk. My own family here in Aomori has been in the fishing industry for centuries."

Everyone else Ayako had met so far at True North sounded more like Hayley. "I see. Clearly you must feel some kindred attachment with them."

"This school was founded to exchange Canadian culture and know-how," said Liza. "So we act the part. The Newfoundlanders struck a chord with me."

"Will you introduce me to the other members?" asked Ayako.

"There's just us two," said Hayley.

"What about your tanks?"

"We gots this one!" Liza, reverting to character, gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.

Sure enough, there was a tank back in the recesses of the hangar. It was a… Sherman? But the turret looked different. She walked around it.

"It's a Ram Mk. II, late version," said Hayley.

"I've never heard of it," said Ayako. But if it was like a 75 mm Sherman, it was no match for a Panther.

"Twenty nine tons, one six pounder gun, one coaxial machine gun, one hull machine gun, five crew," Hayley rattled off.

"How can you fight matches with one barely crewed tank?" Ayako asked in disbelief.

Hayley shrugged. "We don't. The sensha-dō club is mostly just an excuse for us to hang out here. I practice my hockey skills and Liza… what do you do here, anyway?"

"Oh, I just watches ya roll around on them skates. It helps me relax after class."

Ayako was speechless. Hayley clapped her on the shoulder. "Well, welcome aboard, eh? See you tomorrow!"

Ayako fled back to the residence hall.

* * *

That night, Ayako dreamed she was fighting a match with Hayley and Liza against her old comrades in Kuromorimine. Everywhere she looked, heavy tank destroyers would come at them out of nowhere, pointing their huge high-velocity cannons at her. Hayley and Liza were ludicrously unconcerned and instead of firing their own gun, would shout "Bang!" instead, and then laugh uproariously. Ayako woke up, heart thumping, just when she was convinced that they were about to be blown away.

She sat up and ran her fingers through her long brown hair. This was unacceptable. She remembered hearing an American saying, something about making lemonade with lemons. It would be a challenge to weld this apathetic twosome into a crew worthy of her old school, but the bigger the challenge, the greater the reward.

She stopped by the school's administrative offices at lunchtime and officially signed up for the sensha-dō team. She was told that it was a non-credit, extracurricular club. "Not like your old school, eh?" said the friendly office assistant, handing Ayako a key to the hangar. She also confirmed that there were only two other members.

The moment classes were over for the day, Ayako hurried over to the hangar. As she had hoped, she was the first one there. She took advantage of this to have a good look around.

Voices outside presaged the arrival of Hayley and Liza, the former carrying her hockey equipment. They stopped when they saw Ayako.

"Good afternoon Hayley-san, good afternoon Liza-san!" Ayako greeted them.

"Uh, hi," replied Hayley. "You're here early, eh?"

"Yes, I wanted to examine the club's equipment and supplies. I am pleased to see that we have some ammunition and fuel for the Ram."

"Yeah…" replied Hayley cautiously.

"I suggest we get some practice time in. There appears to be a small gunnery range that we can use."

Hayley and Liza gave each other a look. "I tolds ya she was keen…" murmured Liza.

Hayley shrugged. "OK. Give me a hand to load the shells while Liza refuels."

Hayley climbed up onto the Ram's olive drab hull and Ayako passed her several six pounder practice shells which she stowed carefully in the racks.

"I am intrigued. How did True North end up with a sensha-dō team with only one tank?" said Ayako.

Hayley paused in her work. "The way I heard it, about nine years ago the school decided to get into sensha-dō. They bought this tank, built the hangar and set up the training area. They advertised the new elective and got a lot of students on board. Then the recession hit, the budget was cut and they never got any more tanks. They couldn't participate in the tournament, so most of the team members lost interest and drifted away. A few die-hards stuck around and kept things going. The school still provides a bit of money for us, enough to cover an overhaul of the vehicle every year and some fuel and ammo."

"And are you one of those die-hards?"

Hayley shrugged again. "Maybe. I don't know."

Ayako listed on her fingers. "I saw track imprints in the dirt outside, so you've been driving this tank recently. You watched the National Championship finals. You know all about this tank despite the fact that it's an obscure type."

Hayley gave her an unreadable look and finished loading the ammunition.

"She's all gassed up and ready to go, b'y," announced Liza.

"We must decide on crew positions," stated Ayako.

"I's the driver!" said Liza.

"We've been taking turns firing the gun," said Hayley. "You were a loader, right?"

"Loader and second-in-command," said Ayako. "I will act as both commander and loader if you will be the gunner."

"That works for me, eh?"

They slid the hangar's large rear doors aside and climbed inside the Ram. Ayako realized that there was only the single turret hatch. Sitting in the loader's position, all she had was a periscope to see outside. Clearly another crew member was needed if they wanted to fight the tank properly. Oh well. It would do for now.

"Start up!" she commanded.

The engine roared into life. "Driver, advance!"

Liza eased the tank forwards, tracks clattering on the concrete. There was a slight bump as they traversed the threshold, then Liza pressed the accelerator and the Ram picked up speed over the turf. The Continental radial engine purred away smoothly. Ayako felt again the sense of excitement, of invincibility, that she always got when riding tanks.

"Driver, head for the gunnery range," she ordered.

"Yes, b'y!"

"You must address me as commander."

"Yes, commander b'y!"

Ayako quashed her irritation. They crossed the square practice field and pulled up facing the single gunnery butt at the end of a kilometer-long range. Ayako grabbed a six pounder round and shoved it into the breech. "AP up!" Then, as commander: "Gunner, prepare to fire!"

"You got it, skipper," said Hayley.

"I said call me commander!"

"Sorry, eh?"

Ayako gritted her teeth. She adjusted her periscope to view the target downrange. At this distance, it was just a tiny white blot. She moved over to the commander's seat and grabbed a pair of field glasses from a stowage bin. Sticking her head out of the hatch, she focused once more on the target. That was better. She could clearly see the bull's-eye.

The counterweight on the end of the gun barrel depressed a few inches and the turret motor whined as Hayley made aiming adjustments.

"Fire!"

There was a brief pause and then the loud bang as the gun fired. The recoil mechanism absorbed the shock and the empty shell casing clanged into the canvas bag under the breech. A puff of dust erupted a foot or so below the target board.

Ayako now had to scramble back to the loader's position, yank out another shell, load it and return to the hatch. The stink of propellant filled the turret.

"Fire!"

This time, the shot was high. Ayako did her loading routine again. The third shot hit the lower right corner of the target. Hayley gave her a thumbs-up.

"Do you want to try it, skipper?"

Ayako stared at Hayley until she corrected herself. "Commander?"

"No, you are the gunner. We will move and have you try again."

Liza relocated the tank and Hayley aimed and fired. This time it took four shots to score a hit. Ayako shook her head. Hayley wasn't the worst gunner she had seen, but she lacked consistency.

"Gunner, cease fire. Driver, we will return to the hangar."

They parked the Ram and clambered out. "So, what do you think of her?" asked Hayley, slapping the glacis. "She's a bit better than a standard Sherman and probably as good as a late model Pzkpfw IV."

Ayako digested this. "The Panzer IV was the brainchild of Heinz Guderian, the master of Blitzkrieg. This is…"

"The product of Canadian ingenuity! This was the first tank Canada ever developed," said Hayley proudly.

"I can tell," said Ayako. She went on briskly. "We'll continue our practice sessions here daily. We also need to recruit a loader so I can concentrate on command."

Liza looked over at Hayley. Hayley sighed. "This is fun and all, but what's the point? What are you trying to do?"

Ayako met her gaze levelly. "I am trying to bring you up to Kuromorimine's standards. I want us to be the best."

Hayley nodded grudgingly. "That's a noble goal, I guess."

"You don't fully agree?"

Hayley's expression firmed. "Excellence is worth pursuing, even if we can't apply it."

"Good! I will see you here tomorrow afternoon."

_It's a promising start_, Ayako thought. But this was only the beginning of what she wanted to do.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I started writing this fanfic before Maple High School was introduced, so True North is now a second, more obscure Canadian-themed school. The Ram was an attempt to create an indigenous tank by combining the chassis of the M3 Lee with a new hull and turret. It was used mostly for training, but some variants saw combat like the Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier, the Sexton self-propelled gun and artillery observer versions of the Mk. II.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**_In Which a New Teammate is Found and a Challenge Issued_**

Every day after school, Ayako joined Hayley and Liza for practice and drills. By sheer force of will, she was now the de facto leader of the team. She drove them hard and they responded with good-natured tolerance. Liza could complete any maneuver thrown at her, but Hayley still varied wildly in her accuracy. One training session she would hit the target first time, the next she would need two or three tries. Still, Ayako was pleased with their progress.

They needed a loader, though.

Ayako brought up the subject of recruiting after school one day. "We need another crew member. We can do without a radio operator, but we need a dedicated loader."

"Yeah, I asked around my class, but none of them are interested," said Hayley.

"Same here, b'y," said Liza.

"We must cast our net wider," replied Ayako. "We can target second years and freshmen with our campaign. First years would be preferable, since they can carry on the club when we are gone."

"We can put up new posters and banners, and we could send out a blanket e-mail to the student body," suggested Hayley.

Ayako frowned. "That is too passive. We will observe the first years and select one who looks promising. Then we shall win them to us with the promise of a rigorous training regimen designed to Kuromorimine's exacting standards."

"Or, y'know, we could tell her that it's fun and a good way to make new friends," suggested Hayley.

"Did'ja have many friends back in your old school?" asked Liza.

"I had my sensha-dō teammates. We relied on each other absolutely."

"This is a school, not the army," said Hayley. "Did you ever do anything fun with them? Girls' night out? Watching movies in your jammies?"

Ayako gave her a blank look.

Hayley sighed. "Forget it."

The meeting petered out. Ayako was convinced of the way forward, though. She began observing the first years when they played sports, looking for ones that showed aggression and the will to win. Hayley found her one day on the athletic field watching an impromptu soccer match that was going on during the lunch break.

"Jeez, Ayako, people are going to think you either really like sports or you're some kind of stalker," said Hayley. "Maybe you should-"

"Her," said Ayako pointing to a blond girl with pigtails who had just made a particularly vicious sliding tackle. "She's the one."

"Ooookay…"

The game finished and the players began to disperse. Ayako hurried forwards to intercept the freshman she had pointed out.

"You there! What is your name?" she demanded.

Hayley, following behind, winced.

The girl turned around. "Câline! Who wants to know?"

"You should address me as senpai," said Ayako coldly. "I am Ishiguro, of the sensha-dō club."

The girl shrugged. "Sure thing, Ishiguro-senpai. I am Justine."

"I am impressed by your competitiveness," said Ayako. "We are in need of a crew member for our tank, and you are just the kind of person we want."

Justine reacted enthusiastically. "C'est malade! Do I get to shoot the gun and blow stuff up?"

"Hayley-san here is our gunner," said Ayako, motioning towards her.

"OK, I can drive the tank and run over stuff, oui?"

"We already have a driver."

"What do you want me to do, then?"

"We need a loader for the gun," said Ayako, trying not to let Justine's overblown accent distract her. Evidently she had some affinity for French-Canadian culture.

"Tabarnouche! That's it!? Forget it!" Justine started to storm off.

"Whoa, whoa, watch your language, eh?" said Hayley, appealing for calm. "You can try out as the gunner, OK?"

Ayako was torn between being irate with Hayley for rearranging the crew without permission and gratitude when Hayley's words made Justine turn back.

"All right, what the heck, I give it a try!"

"We meet in the hangar over there," said Ayako, pointing. "This afternoon, after classes."

"I will be there! Á tantôt!" said Justine.

Ayako began to have misgivings almost immediately.

* * *

Hayley was telling Liza about their new member when the trio arrived at the hangar that afternoon.

"This team is really takin' off, b'y," observed Liza as they entered the building.

"Yeah, but for how long?" said Hayley. "Shooting at one target and rolling around our little field is going to get old eventually."

"So where's this girl?" asked Liza.

"I'm sure she will be here soon," Ayako replied. Justine had seemed very eager, perhaps overly so.

The clang of the Ram's turret hatch opening suddenly made them all jump.

"Yeah, like right now!" yelled Justine, emerging from the turret. "Let's get this party started, by gar!"

"I thought I locked the door," said Hayley faintly.

"You did, mon amie," replied Justine, climbing down. "I went to the office to sign up, oui? They gave me this key!" She waved it around and promptly dropped it. She stooped to pick it up, muttering what sounded like vile imprecations under her breath.

"So you've already made up your mind to join?" asked Ayako.

Justine shrugged expansively. "Maybe, maybe not, we see. I can always return this. But, I have to tell you, I watched some of this sensha-dō stuff online! The battles, the explosions!" She conducted some elaborate hand movements complete with sound effects that suggested a tank getting blown violently apart.

Ayako bowed formally to her. "As commander, allow me to welcome you to the True North sensha-dō team. Sensha-dō has a long and honourable history, beginning with-"

Justine cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, I read about all that junk. Envoye! I want to shoot at something!" She began bouncing up and down on her feet.

_See_, said a part of Ayako's mind. _She shows the kind of drive that Rommel himself would be proud of. What could go wrong?_

Liza, trying unsuccessfully to hide a wide grin, began fuelling the Ram. Once the ammunition was restocked, Justine entered the turret and took the gunner's seat while Hayley sat in the commander's position and showed her the controls. Ayako perched on the hatch combing, slightly dazed.

"And to shoot, you pull this, oui?" Justine asked, her hand grabbing the trigger mechanism.

"Not inside!" shouted Ayako, snapping out of her distracted state.

"Ben là, I was just asking! You think I'm crazy?"

_Yes! Yes I do!_ Ayako thought silently.

"It's not loaded," pointed out Hayley.

"I know, but proper safety procedures must be followed!"

"Should we head over to the range, skipper?" suggested Hayley. Ayako nodded. Hayley slid over to the loader's position allowing Ayako to take her spot. Liza took her place and got them underway. The Ram jolted over the sod.

"Oh, sacré bleu! I am feeling the carsickness!" Justine was turning green as she spoke.

Ayako put her face in her hands.

"Hang in there," Hayley reassured Justine. "We're almost there."

Liza parked the tank and Justine quickly regained her normal colour. Hayley began instructing Justine in the use of the gun sights. Ayako half listened to the talk of muzzle velocities and aiming reticules. When Hayley had finished, Ayako picked up her binoculars and opened the hatch. "Load AP!"

Hayley rammed home the training shell. "Loaded!"

"Gunner, prepare-"

There was a loud report and the tank rocked back on its suspension. Ayako looked at the smoke drifting from the muzzle in disbelief.

"Wait! You wait until I give the order! Just! Wait!"

Justine stared up at her. "OK, OK, take it easy, mon amie. Breath!"

Ayako tried to steady herself. She was about to unleash a tirade in her best drill sergeant manner when Hayley interjected.

"So, did she hit it?"

Curiosity got the better of her and Ayako peered through her binoculars. There was no mistaking it: there was a neat hole in the dead center of the bull's-eye.

"Very good," she admitted grudgingly. "Now we'll change location and see-"

She was interrupted yet again, this time by the heavy chatter of the coaxial machine gun. Tracer flew downrange and a flurry of dust erupted around the target marker.

"Ha, this is fun!" Justine enthused.

"CEASE FIRE!" shrieked Ayako.

There was silence. Justine and Hayley were looking at her, Hayley with some concern. She stabbed her finger at Justine.

"If you want to be part of this team, you will follow my instructions. Fire only on my order, is that clear?"

Justine shrugged. "You're the boss."

It was at this point that Ayako gave up on ever being called 'commander' again. "Driver, move to a new position."

Liza obligingly drove a few meters away from their original spot. Hayley loaded another round. "Gunner, you may fire when ready."

"For sure on that!" Justine was already laying the gun. She fired, and Ayako saw the impact, once more in the middle of the target board. They repeated this exercise three more times to be sure. It was no fluke; Justine really was a crack-shot prodigy. Ayako breathed easier until the drive back to the hangar induced another attack of nausea in Justine. This kind of thing had never happened at Kuromorimine.

* * *

The next day, Ayako was in the hallway walking between classes when Justine came up suddenly from behind and slapped her on the back.

"Hey, boss! How's it going?"

Ayako tried to get her breath back.

"Listen, I just want you to know that Hayley-san, she have a talk with me about the gun safety, oui? We go over the rules and she say that if I ever shoot without permission again, I am outta here!"

"That's… that's good. See that you remember," said Ayako, gathering her wits.

"OK, boss! See you later!"

Once again, Hayley had gone over her head, Ayako reflected. She would have to have a serious talk with her about the chain of command.

Justine was undeterred by her motion sickness and followed Ayako's orders to the letter in the training sessions that followed. It seemed like they just might have a reasonably functioning crew. It was time for the next phase of the plan.

* * *

Ayako stared at her phone. Would they just laugh at her? Kay-san seemed the friendly type, though. And this was the only way forward, unless she wanted to find enough money for a fleet of new tanks. She entered the number.

After a few rings, Saunders' team captain picked up. "Hello?"

Ayako launched into her carefully prepared speech. "Greetings, Kay-san. This is Ishiguro with the True North High School sensha-dō team."

"Oh, hey! I, uh… I don't think I've heard of you," said Kay.

"We are a brand-new team, just starting up. I have a favour to ask of you, if I may."

"OK, shoot!"

"Er…"

"I mean, go ahead!"

"Ah, yes. At present, we have only a single tank. I was wondering if you would be willing to participate in a one-on-one battle with us. It's the only way we will be able to gain experience," said Ayako.

There was a pause on the other end as Kay mulled this over.

"A duel, huh? I don't think I've ever seen a one-on-one fight before. Hey, why not! What are you bringing?"

"We have a Ram Mk. II."

There was another silence. Ayako imagined Kay hurriedly looking up the stats.

"OK, got it! Hmm… looks like you'd be a good match-up with one of our Sherman crews. When do you want to do this?"

"We were thinking of next weekend."

"Great, how about Saturday? I can book us for one of the battlefields. I'll send you the details."

"That's good." Ayako gave Kay her contact information. "Thank you very much. I look forward to this match."

"No problem! See ya!"

Ayako hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. That had been easy. Now she just needed to break the news to her team.

* * *

"Seriously? We're going to battle Saunders?" said Hayley.

"Yes, just one of their tanks," said Ayako.

"You know our gunner gets seasick, right?"

"Carsick. I have never been seasick," corrected Justine.

"Sorry, eh?"

Justine waved off the apology. They had just begun their daily club meeting in the hangar when Ayako had sprung this piece of information on them.

"Justine-san has done well keeping her affliction under control for the past few practices," said Ayako.

"It's a flat field! We're moving for maybe five minutes at a time!" Hayley pointed out.

"Nevertheless," said Ayako, holding Hayley's gaze.

"OK, you're the skipper, eh? Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty excited to fight a real battle at last."

Ayako nodded. "Good. I put in a request with the student council and they have graciously agreed to have the ship dock near the battlefield we will be using on Saturday."

"Which battlefield is it?" asked Hayley.

Ayako handed out some topographic maps. "You might remember it from the Nationals."

"Yeah, I remember this one, b'y! First round, Ōarai versus Saunders," said Liza. "They didn't televise it, but someone put the jumbotron feed online."

"Forest map, eh? This could be fun."

"C'est chouette! At last I get to shoot at another tank! They will blow up real good!"

Ayako smiled inwardly. Her crew was willing to battle and all was right with the world.

* * *

They hadn't even reached the start area and Justine was already retching. Luckily, Hayley had brought a pile of sick bags from the academy ship's stores with them. Ayako clenched her jaw. She'd been sure that Justine's condition had been improving lately.

Hayley looked at her accusingly. "I told you this would be a problem."

Ayako, tight-lipped, gave her a quick shake of the head. Liza was doing her best to drive smoothly along the track and now here was the clearing where were supposed to meet Kay. Sure enough, Saunders' sensha-dō team leader and a Sherman crew were there with a couple of Ford MUTT jeeps. Kay waved as they pulled up. "Hi guys! Glad you could make it!"

Ayako and her crew all hopped down. Hayley supported Justine, who rapidly improved now that they were no longer moving. In lieu of a proper sensha-dō team uniform they were all wearing their standard school uniforms. Hayley had attempted to wear a hockey jersey over her uniform for the match, but Ayako had immediately vetoed it.

"Pleased to meet you," said Ayako, bowing to Kay. "I'm Ishiguro, the commander. Justine-san is our gunner, Hayley-san our loader and Liza-san our driver."

"Cool! This here is Brittney. She'll be fighting you today!" Kay waved towards a short, stocky girl with curly auburn hair.

"Hey," said Brittney, giving them a casual wave. "How's it goin'?" She was chewing bubblegum.

"It is going well, thank you," said Ayako. Brittney snapped her gum and gave her a thumbs-up.

Standing off to the side was one of the official sensha-dō judges in her black uniform and silver gorget. Once the pleasantries were over, she stepped forwards.

"Attention, everyone! This battle is a one-on-one match between True North High School and Saunders University High School. The teams will greet each other!"

Bows were exchanged. "Good luck!" said Kay. Ayako and the others echoed her.

"Saunders will return to their starting point, at which time the match will commence," announced the judge. Kay's group all piled into the jeeps and drove off in a cloud of dust, Kay waving goodbye cheerfully from the lead jeep. The judge left in a different direction.

They all took their positions in the Ram and waited for the radio signal to begin. The day promised to be warm, with not a cloud in the sky. Justine was abnormally subdued, no doubt anticipating the next bout of nausea.

Ayako's headphones crackled. "Match start!" came the announcement. A signal flare popped in the sky overhead. This was it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Justine is using snippets of Québécois slang in her speech, including the milder versions of the sacres swear words.

Thanks very much for the reviews so far. Theralion, I have updated Chapter 1 to hopefully address your findings. I'll work to keep improving this fic as long as there's feedback.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_**In Which the First Battle is Lost and Won**_

"Driver, take us around the southern edge of the forest ahead. Go as fast as you can!" commanded Ayako the moment the match began.

Liza did as she was told and soon they were jolting over the open grassland that surrounded the main wooded area. For practicality purposes, the battlefield boundaries had been reduced from what they were during the championship and this forest dominated the center of the map. The wind generated by their passage cooled Ayako pleasantly as she sat in the turret hatch.

"What's the plan, eh?" asked Hayley over the intercom. "You haven't briefed us or anything."

Ayako had seen no need to share her strategy with them before now. After all, all they had to do was follow her orders.

"Saunders' team will no doubt expect us to move cautiously with this being our first match," she replied. "We will move quickly and decisively and take them by surprise. We'll skirt the southern boundary of the battlefield and then turn north once we are near their starting point. This should position us on their flank."

"Assuming they head west towards our starting point, yeah," said Hayley. "But our gunner isn't going to be in any shape to engage." Justine was hunched over, white as a sheet.

Ayako grunted noncommittally. She had neglected to account sufficiently for this problem. Hopefully, once they halted to shoot, Justine would recover quickly.

"We maybe should have holed up in an ambush position and waited for them to come to us," Hayley suggested.

"No. We are hunters, not some wounded prey backed into a corner. We will proceed with my plan."

Hayley shrugged. Liza began humming what sounded like a sea shanty.

"Keep the channel clear, driver."

"Sorry, b'y, but I's just enjoyin' the weather. It's a lovely day out," said Liza.

It was. The air was fresh and clear, a cool breeze ruffled the leaves on the trees and sunlight dappled the grass. Ayako could have allowed herself to enjoy it, but it was a distraction from the business at hand. She must stay focused on winning.

She scanned the tree line to their left. If she had misjudged their opponents, the enemy Sherman could be there, in cover, tracking their exposed progress across the open ground. But she could see no green steel among the brown tree trunks and no shells came flying at them.

They reached the easternmost extent of the forest and Ayako had them turn north and move into the trees. She felt less vulnerable in its shaded depths, but now she had to double her vigilance. They could come upon the other team at any time.

"Keep your eyes peeled," she said. The others, with the exception of Justine, acknowledged.

They couldn't go in a straight line more than a few meters before having to angle around the tree trunks. Ayako had to alternate between reading the map and compass and keeping a lookout constantly. They gradually turned back to the west, facing their original starting point.

Still no sign of the Sherman. Ayako's eyes were watering from trying to parse the identical brown trunks that stretched away in all directions. Liza was doing a good job of negotiating the obstacles and keeping their speed up. The foliage thinned up ahead as they approached the edge of the forest. Sunbeams shone through the gaps, illuminating a few stray leaves that drifted on the breeze.

"Driver, halt."

They came to rest overlooking a gentle slope that ran down towards the clearing where they had met Kay. There was no immediate sign of the other tank. Ayako used her binoculars to search around. There, something moving! But it was only a deer, trotting out of a cluster of oaks a kilometer or so away. It grazed calmly among the long grass, then stopped suddenly, swiveling its ears. With a flash of its tail, it disappeared back into the undergrowth. Ayako's pulse quickened. What had spooked the deer? She looked left and right, but saw nothing.

A minute passed slowly. Still nothing. Ayako watched carefully for other signs like birds taking flight, but all was calm. The back of her neck itched. She had been quite confident that by making a wide circle they would be in a perfect position to attack from behind. So where was the enemy? She glanced nervously over her shoulder, half expecting the Sherman to be parked right behind them, but the woods were as empty as before.

Now what? Hayley was looking at her. Justine was back to good health and drumming her foot impatiently while peering through the sights. She had not considered any contingency plans, but she had to act. Indecision had to be avoided.

"Driver, move back through the forest. We'll keep to the northern edge this time." Justine gave a small groan.

Once again, Ayako had to juggle between observation and navigation. Following the forest boundary helped, though. A fallen tree trunk, its roots grasping like claws in the semi-darkness, forced them to detour deeper into the woods. She glanced down at the map again.

Liza's voice came shockingly loud over the intercom. "Tunderen' Jaysus! Enemy tank, bearing green-one-zero!"

"What!?" Ayako had never heard that bearing nomenclature before. She looked franticly from side to side.

The Saunders M4 had appeared abruptly out of the shadows ahead of them, crossing their path from left to right not a hundred meters away. The commander was unbuttoned and Ayako saw her head turn towards them. The Sherman's brakes slammed on.

"Gunner, tank, one o'clock!"

Justine gave an inarticulate moan. Their turret started to swivel to the right. They were now aiming towards the Sherman's right rear quarter and the enemy's gun was pointing in completely the wrong direction. Perfect!

"Shoot!"

The QF six pounder thundered and a parcel of crows took flight from the nearby treetops, cawing querulously. Ayako peered through the smoke, but there was no white flag to see. Justine's shot had gone wide.

The Saunders crew started to slew both the tank and the turret around to the right to bear.

Hayley started manhandling the next shell into place. They were still trundling forwards, aimed to pass behind the other tank. What to do? Should they stop and hope that Justine recovered in time?

Hayley yelled over the intercom. "Liza, speed up and get us in close!"

"Yes, b'y!"

They accelerated with a jerk. Ayako was dumbstruck. The gun on the Sherman continued rotating, trying to get a bead on them. Liza bore in towards the other tank, racing to keep them ahead of the 75 mm's traverse. Their own gun was still canted off to the side. As Ayako watched in fascination and horror, Liza ran them right up alongside Saunders' vehicle, coming to a screeching halt with the muzzle of the six pounder mere inches from the M4's turret. Judging by the look on the Brittney's face, she was having a reaction similar to Ayako's.

"Gun up!" shouted Hayley. She turned towards Justine. "Justine! Pull the trigger! Shoot!"

Ayako joined in. "Fire, fire, fire!"

Justine stirred. Her hand closed around the firing mechanism. The Sherman's cannon turned the last few degrees to point right at them.

The sound of the gun firing and the shell slamming into armour plate were simultaneous. Ayako flinched back, ears ringing. A smoke cloud enveloped them. A few seconds later they heard the sound of a white flag deploying. Ayako rubbed her eyes, trying to see…

The smoke cleared gradually, revealing a large black blast mark on the side of the M4's turret. Above it, the flag fluttered fitfully in the breeze. Brittney stared at it, wide-eyed.

"I think I swallowed my gum," she said eventually.

"Saunders' tank is disabled. True North High School wins!" announced the radio. Hayley, Liza and even Justine responded with cheers.

The crews climbed out of their respective vehicles. "Good game, eh?" said Hayley to the Saunders crew. "We got lucky there."

"That was a close one," admitted Brittney. "We didn't know where you guys were for quite a while. We backtracked all over the place."

"Yeah, us too."

* * *

While preparations were being made to tow the Sherman out of the forest, Kay roared up in one of the jeeps.

"Wow, that was pretty tense! Watching the map feed, there were a couple times I thought you were gonna find each other, but then you kept going. That was one crazy move you pulled at the end."

They did the round of handshakes again and Kay wished them luck. "Do y'all have any more battles planned? 'Cause I might just come out to watch!"

"Thank you. We'll let you know," said Ayako stiffly. She was trying hard not to let her anger show. Kay and the rest of the Saunders team finally left and she turned on Hayley.

"That was not acceptable! I am the commander and I give the orders!"

Hayley and the others looked shocked. "But we won, eh?"

"You must respect the chain of command! This sort of thing would not be tolerated at my old school."

"I figured you would approve of me using my initiative," said Hayley, grimacing. "I guess not."

"Never go over my head again, is that clear?"

Hayley nodded once sharply. "Yeah, you've made your views very clear."

* * *

All the long drive back to the port, Ayako seethed. But deep inside, she knew the real reason why she was so upset. Hayley had won the match for them, not her. She had hesitated and barring a miracle, the Sherman would have knocked them out while they were still reloading. She tamped the thought down. She was a veteran of Kuromorimine, after all. She was the expert here.

Everyone else was silent and avoided eye contact. The entire mood of the group was spoiled on what should have been a happy occasion. When they got back to the ship, they went their separate ways with only cursory farewells.

Ayako went back to her dorm room and threw herself miserably on the bed.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hayley is correct that the Ram Mk. II has some advantages over the 75 mm M4 Sherman: it has a lower profile and the QF 6 pounder gun has better armour piercing capability. Other than that, the two tanks are well matched. Liza used a nautical relative bearing callout apparently used by the British during WWII. Green = starboard/right; one-zero = ten degrees. In the anime, Kuromorimine uses the clock method for relative bearing.

It's definitely a stretch to justify the overhead for just two tanks to battle. However, I think the anime and manga spinoffs often show similar levels of exorbitant expenditure: Ami arriving by LAPES, the League allowing combat in a built-up area with the associated property damage and Saunders airdropping light tanks in _Ribbon Warrior_.

One thing that isn't shown in detail in the anime is how some of the spectators view the match. There are bleachers and a jumbotron for the main audience, but the other teams seem to sit off on their own. When Anzio show up to cheer on Ōarai, they look like they're miles from anywhere.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_**In Which Philosophies Clash and a Second Battle is Offered**_

Ayako woke the next morning as she usually did, energetic and driven. Then the memories of yesterday's events crowded in on her and ruined her mood.

They had won! Better yet, they had won their first match against a crew from an experienced sensha-dō team. But Hayley had usurped her place as commander. That was… wrong. At Kuromorimine, you did as you were told and the people who told you what to do were the tank commanders, and the people who told _them_ what to do were Itsumi-san and Nishizumi-san herself. It worked because Nishizumi-san was a panzer expert and the team became a ruthlessly efficient extension of her will. She was an inspiration to Ayako and part of her objective was to try, as best she could, to emulate Maho and bring that expertise to her new school.

But if Hayley had not acted, they would have lost, and losing was failure. Losing was not the Nishizumi way.

This bounced back and forth in Ayako's mind as she got dressed and made breakfast.

She had alienated her crew and Hayley in particular. She needed them if she was going to continue sensha-dō here. She supposed she would have to mend fences. It wasn't like Hayley had _disobeyed_ orders, after all.

* * *

Since it was the weekend and they had no classes, Ayako went over to Hayley's room straight after eating. Hayley answered at the first knock. She looked at Ayako cautiously. "Oh, hey."

Ayako took a deep breath. "I wish to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I overreacted. Your quick-thinking, albeit unauthorized action won the match for us."

Hayley smiled. "That's OK, eh? I'm sorry I went over your head. You looked pretty mad."

"I was," said Ayako. "I need to remember that you're not from Kuromorimine."

Well, no," said Hayley. "But that doesn't mean we're not willing to learn." She paused. "Do you want some coffee?"

Ayako didn't have anything else planned. "I would, please."

She followed Hayley inside. It struck her how Spartan her own quarters looked compared with Hayley's room, which was coated with a layer of touristy Canadiana. Posters, flags, snow globes, dolls, most hockey-related, all of them decorated with maple leaves. She stared at a large, threadbare stuffed moose wearing a tuque sitting on Hayley's desk.

Hayley followed her gaze. "That's Gordie. I got him on a trip to Vancouver when I was a kid."

"Ah." Ayako had disposed of all her childish toys some time ago.

"We went to see a hockey game when I was there," Hayley continued. "That's how I got interested in it." She smiled wryly. "I seem to have a knack for picking sports that I can't actually compete in. Until now, that is, thanks to you."

Hayley handed her a steaming cup of coffee from a brewer perched on top of a filing cabinet. She pushed aside a haphazard pile of ramen packets and retrieved sugar and some creamers. Ayako mixed them in and took a sip.

"This is good!"

Hayley gave a short laugh. "You must not drink much coffee. This is the cheapest brand I could find."

"I have never actually had coffee before," admitted Ayako.

Hayley looked serious. "Look, I gotta tell you, I was pretty angry myself yesterday. I know you're trying to whip us into shape, but I really wish you'd lighten up. This is a sports club, not some paramilitary organization where everything has to be by the book. It's supposed to be fun, eh?"

Ayako considered this. "Thank you for your candor, but I believe the Nishizumi style that I am following to be correct. This is very important to me."

"OK, summarize the Nishizumi style for me," said Hayley.

"Act swiftly and decisively. Hit hard, never retreat. Victory is everything," said Ayako after a pause.

Hayley frowned slightly.

Ayako continued, somewhat defensively. "This method has given us more wins than any other school."

"Yeah, but have you considered that your equipment played a big part in that? I mean, if I'm in a King Tiger, and you're in a 7TP, who's gonna win, eh?"

Hayley started pacing around the room while thinking out loud.

"We're doing one-on-one matches, not big battles where units are expendable and overall strategy is important. Here, it comes down to who sees who first. You've gotta remember that tanks are eggshells armed with hammers."

"What do you mean?" asked Ayako.

"OK, take a Sherman Firefly and a Tiger. The Tiger has more armour, right? But it doesn't matter, 'cause the Firefly can still kill it with one shot at most combat ranges and vice-versa. The winner will probably be whoever shoots first without missing.

"What I'm trying to say is, everyone in the crew has to be able to use their initiative and you've got to listen to our ideas, no matter how crazy. You need to use us to our full potential."

Ayako was starting to feel jittery from the unaccustomed caffeine rush. "Good discipline and maintaining the proper chain of command reduce confusion and promote efficiency. However, I am willing to consider suggestions from you during a match and act on them as I see fit."

Hayley nodded. "Well, that's something."

It seemed they had come to an understanding. Ayako finished her cup and handed it back to Hayley.

"I'll see you at the next practice. Thank you for the coffee."

"You're welcome, eh?"

Ayako went back to her room, but could not stop fidgeting. She considered Hayley's points. They made some sense, but it had been drilled into her that the Nishizumi style was sacred. Her objective would lose its meaning if she resorted to different methods.

She wanted to avenge Kuromorimine's losses. She would first remake True North's sensha-dō team (what there was of it) in Kuromorimine's image, then beat Pravda and Ōarai. That would show them that Kuromorimine and the Nishizumi style were not to be trifled with, and she could finally rest easy.

Ayako remembered again the crashing disappointment when Ōarai's victory had been announced. She, like all the others, had been sure that Nishizumi-san would prevail, or that Itsumi-san would come to her aid in time. But Miho had beaten them. Miho was problematic. She was a Nishizumi and Maho-san's sister and seemed like a nice person. But to Ayako, she was inextricably associated with Kuromorimine's two defeats.

* * *

At the next club meeting, Liza and Justine eyed her warily, but relaxed when she congratulated them on their win. She reminded them of the importance of following orders and, belatedly, lectured them on radio discipline and the clock method for relative bearing that Kuromorimine used. During the training session that followed, Ayako noticed to her surprise that Justine was unaffected by the tank's movement.

"You're not sick!" she said as they rumbled over the grass.

"Yeah, Hayley-san, she give me these wristbands!" said Justine happily. "They use pressure points or acupuncture or some junk."

"I saw them at the pharmacy and I thought they might be worth a shot. I'm glad to hear they're working for you," said Hayley.

Ayako found herself giving Hayley a grateful look. They completed their drills and retired for the night.

Ayako lay awake thinking. _We aren't ready for Pravda or Ōarai yet. Who next then? St. Gloriana? No, they would probably send one of their Churchills and laugh as the six pounder rounds bounced off. Anzio, maybe?_ She finally fell asleep.

* * *

Her phone rang the next afternoon. "Ishiguro-san? This is Mika at Continuance High School. Kay-san told me about your new team. We have a StuG III crew who would be willing to battle you, if you are interested."

_How fortuitous!_ "I am most definitely interested! Thank you, Mika-san!" They hashed out the details together.

* * *

A week later, the academy ship docked once again and they drove for many kilometers to a barren, sun-baked expanse of desert. A judge, Mika and a grey StuG III were waiting for them. They disembarked and introduced themselves.

The StuG crew were all fresh-faced and eager. Their commander, a tall blonde named Alena, greeted Ayako enthusiastically. "We just joined our team, so this will be our first battle outside of training! It will be a change from going up against our veterans!" She shook Ayako's hand vigorously.

Ayako opened her mouth to reply, but Alena had already moved on to greet Hayley.

"Thank you for arranging our match. It is rather unconventional," said Ayako to Mika.

"Think nothing of it! We are always happy to help new teams, it benefits our sport. I think some of the other schools will also be willing to help you," said Mika.

_Just as long as Pravda and Ōarai are among them_, thought Ayako.

"You mentioned that you are formerly from Kuromorimine," Mika went on.

"Yes, I was there for two years. I'm attempting to build this new team using that experience."

Mika smiled. "Then I am sure my crew is in for a tough battle."

"Well, I am no Nishizumi," said Ayako modestly.

"We can't all be like Maho-san or Miho-san."

That name. Ayako's smile vanished. "Shall we begin?"

"Of course."

This time they had to drive a fair distance to their starting point.

"We've expended more shells and burned more gas in the past month than during all of last year," noted Hayley. "I hope the student council doesn't crack down on our funding."

Ayako sighed inwardly. Another potential obstacle to deal with.

The terrain looked relatively flat, but ridges and gullies among the dunes would provide cover. Vegetation was virtually non-existent, except for a verdant patch surrounding a tiny oasis near the center of the battlefield.

Ayako wondered what Alena was planning. Continuance were out of their element in a desert, but the sand had many of the same properties as snow. It was comforting to know that with Justine in good health, their first shot ought to settle the matter.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Mika, the leader of Continuance High School's sensha-dō team, only gets one mention in OVA #6. Maybe she'll show up in the movie or one of the manga spinoffs.

The Ram's six pounder gun is fearsome when using APDS ammunition. For the purposes of the narrative, I'm assuming they only have regular AP shells to work with.

Point taken about the logistics involved in humouring True North's requests for one-on-one battles. It could take months for it to be convenient for both school ships and the opposing team.

I updated Chapters 2 and 3 to give Saunders' M4 commander a name and some more lines. I removed the line equating the Nishizumi style with attack. Now it's more of a personal preference for Ayako. I'll have a think about ways to expand the first battle.

I'm following all the feedback. I don't know if I'll be able to address everything, but it is very worthwhile. Thanks!

From what I've read, I agree that the Germans' flexibility and initiative are at odds with the idea expressed in Episode 11 that KMM fall apart easily when their plans go awry. I don't know what they'd do without Maho.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_**In Which the Plan Must be Revised**_

When the match started, Ayako had them move the Ram towards an elevated point on the battlefield, if the small dune they aimed for could be called that. They needed a clear view to give Justine her best shot. Reaching the top, they all scanned the horizon urgently. All the hatches were open, partly to see better and partly to try and alleviate the heat.

The initial impression of the terrain was misleading. The sand was an elaborate maze of dips and rises, the depressions easily deep enough to conceal a tank.

A tiny smudge of slowly dissipating exhaust smoke in the distance revealed the StuG's starting point. There was no sign of the assault gun itself. Their target must be hidden in one of the folds in the ground. Stay put, or move? Ayako dismissed the former option at once.

"Driver, we're moving out. Keep us on the crests of the dunes and head roughly towards where we saw the smoke."

Liza shifted into gear and began driving along one of the sand ridges.

Ayako's reasoning was that this would give them the best chance of the first shot while the StuG maneuvered into a firing position, although they would be visible to the enemy. If, on the other hand, they tried to stay hidden they could blunder into each other at any time, at close range where Justine's skill would be negated.

She stood on tiptoe on the commander's seat in an effort to make herself as tall as possible and looked around. It was as bad for eyestrain as the forest in their duel with Saunders. Heat haze rippled in waves off the sand and the sheer brightness of the land and sky assaulted her eyes. Why hadn't she thought to bring sunglasses?

There! A dark blob resolved into the StuG, going up and over a dune off to their left.

"Gunner, tank, 11 o'clock!"

But the StuG had disappeared by the time Justine lined up the sights.

"Did you get the range?" Ayako asked.

"About fifteen hundred meters, I think," said Justine.

"They were moving southwest. Driver, change course due west. Everyone, keep a lookout to the right."

A few minutes later they spotted the StuG again, slightly closer. Again, Justine did not have time to draw a bead on it before it was gone.

"Maybe they're popping up every now and then to check our position," said Hayley.

"We need to anticipate them. Gunner, look to our one o'clock position and fire the moment they appear," ordered Ayako.

"You got it, boss." Justine gripped the trigger tensely.

A heat-distorted vision of the enemy vehicle formed roughly where Ayako had predicted, but farther away than before.

"There!"

Their gun banged and they watched the path of the shell. From this angle, it appeared to drift lazily up, then back down, throwing up a sheet of sand when it finally hit. Before it got there, the StuG had vanished again.

The crest of the dune they were on changed direction. Ayako recalibrated her prediction, and Justine watched and waited on a hair trigger. When the StuG finally appeared, it had swung north and east and was nowhere near where they had expected it.

"Câline! It's like one of those pop-up ducks at a shooting gallery," Justine muttered. Ayako had them reverse direction and head back the way they had come. She studied the map, trying to trace the assault gun's route.

All at once, the sand began to slide out from under them, flowing down the side of the ridge like a sable river. The Ram lurched over to the left making Ayako lose her balance. Liza revved the throttle desperately as they began to slide sideways and managed to keep them moving forwards, angled diagonally to the drift. Their tracks churned away until, halfway down the dune, they reached a more stable patch and were able to claw their way back up to the summit. Ayako's heart was thumping. She realized to her annoyance that she had lost the map overboard.

The StuG made another fleeting appearance. It was gone again before Ayako could react.

They made several abortive attempts to shoot at where they thought the StuG would materialize and tried timing the intervals between when the StuG was visible, but no pattern emerged. The enemy was keeping their movements almost entirely random. Ayako wasn't even sure where they were themselves anymore. By now, they were all hot, tired and thirsty.

"We shoudda broughts more water, b'y," said Liza. "I'm almost out and what's left is boilin' hot."

Ayako clenched her fists. They couldn't hit the StuG like this. They were just being toyed with. _Why don't they just _fight_?_

"Driver, head straight for their last position and never mind about keeping to the high ground. I want to close the range, so put your foot down!"

"Hold on, skipper, that might be just what they want us to do. I thought the idea was to try and give Justine a shot at long range?" said Hayley.

"I have modified my plan," said Ayako impatiently.

Hayley held up her hands. "OK, you're in charge."

The Ram roared up and down the ridges, hurling them around and scattering loose items onto the floor. Ayako had half-climbed out of the turret hatch and was shading her eyes with one hand and holding on tightly with the other. Only once did they hit another loose patch, while descending into a depression, but Liza held her nerve and they surfed down it, maintaining enough momentum to climb up and out on the other side. Then, up ahead, Ayako saw what she was looking for.

"Driver, slow!" she shouted. There were obvious tracks on the sand in front of them where the other vehicle had passed. There was no way to tell the direction, but based on their various sightings, she could guess it.

"Driver, head to the right! Follow the trail they've left!"

This took them down one of the deeper gullies. Liza kept them moving smoothly along it as it wove among and intersected other rifts. Navigation was irrelevant now and Ayako was keeping a sharp lookout in every direction. They knew where the StuG had been, but where it was now was anyone's guess.

The dunes on either side of them got steadily lower and then ahead of them the land opened up into a truly flat area extending to the edge of the oasis.

"Full speed ahead, driver!" Ayako cried.

The StuG had been waiting for them. Ayako saw the muzzle flash to their left in her peripheral vision as they burst out into the open, but their speed was such that the shot streaked past behind them.

"Driver, halt! Gunner, tank, nine o'clock!" Justine was already turning their turret. The Ram rumbled to a stop. Finally, they had their opponent out in the open!

The StuG reacted by going into reverse, throwing up fountains of sand from its tracks as it veered around. They were trying to head back into the dunes. _Too late_, thought Ayako jubilantly.

"Fire!"

"Take this, you tête carrée!" cried Justine, squeezing the trigger.

Their projectile passed just in front of the retreating assault gun. It took Ayako a good second to realize that Justine had somehow missed.

"Maudine d'ostine de tabarnouche de ciboulle!" screamed Justine.

With panther-like agility the StuG changed course and the 75 mm gun was pointing at them once more. Ayako was first distracted by Justine's flow of invective, then wondered if she was motion sick. She looked fine-

"Skipper, we need to move! Skipper!" cried Hayley, her voice rising in pitch as she grabbed for a reload.

Ayako looked over at the assault gun and then did the first thing that popped into her head: drop back inside the turret and slam the hatch closed. Hayley stared at her in disbelief.

"Does ya want me to-" Liza began to say.

The noise of the StuG's gun firing was muted inside the tank, but the impact of the shell a moment later was anything but. _This is the first time I've been in a tank that's been hit_, reflected the part of Ayako that was not preoccupied with trying to curl into a fetal position.

The ringing died down and Ayako opened her eyes. "They got us, right? The white flag is up, right?" asked a dazed looking Hayley, her voice sounding faint and far-away. Ayako gingerly opened the turret hatch. The first thing that met their eyes was the flag, drooping in the windless heat. A moment later, the radio confirmed their fate.

They all climbed out. Ayako jumped to the ground and stared around uncertainly. Hayley began looking over the Ram for damage. The 75 mm round had ploughed deep into the armour and was still smoking.

The StuG rattled up. Alena was grinning broadly. Ayako noticed the fancy sport shades she wore and the large canteen of water in her hand.

"Are you all OK?" They nodded. "We can scarcely believe that we won our first real fight!"

"Congratulations," managed Ayako numbly.

"Thank you, Ishiguro-san! We can be proud that we managed to best a Kuromorimine alumnus!"

Mika arrived in a Kommandeurwagen while they were talking. "Well done, Alena-san, but you did miss with your first shot."

Alena's spirits were undampened. "We shall strive to improve our gunnery skills, Mika-san!"

Mika smiled. "I'm sure you will. Anyway, good job!"

Hayley walked over. "Skipper, the engine and tracks are undamaged, so we can at least drive home."

Bows and handshakes were exchanged. Mika wished them future success and they drove back to the port. Somewhere along the way, Ayako snapped out of her stupor and turned to Justine.

"How did you miss? What happened?"

"My sights, they were right on, boss," said Justine defensively.

"Were you sick? Did the wristbands not work? Is something wrong with the gun?"

Hayley put a hand on her arm. "Take it easy, eh? We'll figure it out."

"We lost. It's a disgrace!" said Ayako glumly.

"We're learning. That's why we're doing this, remember? Every time you fail, you improve."

That was not a very Kuromorimine-like notion. Once again, they returned under a cloud. She remembered the oh-so-happy faces of the Ōarai girls at the finals. Would she ever experience that joy of victory?

_You can bluster all you want_, thought a part of her mind acidly, _but you know full well that once again you came up short._

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Continuance High School are apparently noted for their marksmanship, but Alena and her crew are newbies.

I had started out using the –san honourific for all the team captains. Then I watched the sixth OVA to check that I had Mika's name correct. When Yuzu reads out the congratulatory messages from the other schools, she refers to "Kay-sama", "Nishi-sama" and "Mika-sama". Darjeeling and Orange Pekoe get no honourifics, and Katyusha is "Katyusha-san". So, there's a precedent for using –sama. I'm definitely no expert in Japanese culture and etiquette, so it may be better to just change them all to –san.

Good catch, I did not put the line breaks in between scenes like I had been doing before. For consistency I have gone back and added them in.

I did a first pass on the conversations to do a better job identifying the speaker and to try and make the flow smoother.

Justine's acupressure wristbands are a real thing and some of the online reviews claim they work. Looks like Justine is one of the lucky ones.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_**In Which Morale and the Ram Need Repair**_

Ayako sat listlessly in her room the Monday after their debacle. She had been avoiding the others ever since they returned to the ship. She glanced over at the clock, which showed that she was now officially late for the club meeting. When the knock on her door finally came, she knew instinctively that it was Hayley. She briefly considered pretending she wasn't there, but Hayley pre-empted her: "Ayako, I know you're in there! Please open up!" Sighing, she reached for the handle.

Hayley looked worried. "Ayako, what gives? Why aren't you at practice?"

"I don't feel well."

Hayley sighed. "Ayako, the team won't survive if you're gonna freak out every time we don't meet your incredibly high standards."

Ayako recoiled at her bluntness.

"I thought you'd like to know that we figured out why Justine missed," Hayley continued.

Ayako's curiosity got the better of her. "Why?"

"It's 'cause she's never practiced hitting a moving target before, so she didn't lead it."

"Oh." Ayako had heard of the technique, but was not overly familiar with gunnery.

"I completely blanked on telling her about that, but this is something we can fix. That's why you had us doing those battles, right? So we can get better?"

Ayako slumped into a chair. "You don't understand. I know now that the problem here is me. I… I don't think I can continue sensha-dō." To her embarrassment, she found that she was sniveling.

Hayley looked stunned. "Jeez, Ayako, that loss really took the wind out of your sails, eh?" She grabbed a box of tissues and offered them to Ayako, then sat beside her. "I know we don't always agree, but until you came along I had resigned myself to never fighting a real battle. You're the one who motivated us to get going again. You even got us a new team member!" She looked at Ayako calculatingly. "And I can't believe that your old school would approve of you just giving up."

Ayako flinched. Hayley was right. As shameful as losing was, her former teammates would distain her for leaving the sport because of it.

"Is losing really that bad? It happens to every team, even Kuromorimine," said Hayley.

Ayako's mouth twisted. "Yes, I know, I was there both times. But this loss was my fault. I froze up again, just like in the first match." She blew her nose loudly. "I'm from Kuromorimine! I'm supposed to be better than this. I have let you and my old school down."

"This is your first time commanding, eh? It's not just your crew who are learning. I bet even Nishizumi-san didn't start out as Guderian reincarnated."

Ayako tried and failed to imagine a frustrated and confused Maho.

Hayley looked curious. "Why did you transfer here, Ayako? You didn't even know if we had a team. Were… were you running away from those defeats?"

"No!" said Ayako, stung. "I wanted more than anything to help get us back up on top again… but my parents insisted that I move north with them. I don't think they liked Kuromorimine."

Hayley pondered. "I think I see. You want us to validate the Nishizumi style and that's why you won't compromise on it."

"Yes, but now we have won by not following my doctrine, and lost when we did."

"I think you're exaggerating. If Justine had known how to lead a target, we probably would have won. But like I said before, Kuromorimine also gets by on equipment superiority. I hate to tell you this, but in some ways we're closer to Ōarai."

Ayako's first instinct was to hotly deny the comparison. But she was tired of being irritated all the time and if she was honest with herself, Hayley had a point, so she smiled ruefully instead. "Ouch."

Hayley smiled back. "Sorry, eh? But I think you're too intense. If you relax a bit, you might find you'll do better." She tilted her head. "Why did you get into sensha-dō? Do you come from a long line of illustrious tankers?"

"No, I just liked the idea of riding around in big, strong, loud machines."

Hayley got up and held out her hand to Ayako. "Well, we've got one of those out in the hangar."

Ayako sighed. _Who am I kidding_, she thought. _I would never give up sensha-d__ō willingly_. She took Hayley's hand and stood up.

"Thank you, Hayley-san."

"Welcome back, skipper."

* * *

"The good news is that no vital systems were damaged in our last match," said Hayley back at the meeting. She had said nothing to the others about the scene in Ayako's room. "The bad news is that we need to get the armour repaired properly to meet the safety requirements. That's gonna be expensive, eh?"

Ayako frowned. "The school won't cover the costs?"

"I talked to the student council and they said they are still fine with covering gas, ammo and maintenance, but we have to deal with anything above and beyond that. Frankly, they're being incredibly generous as it is. Most clubs as small as ours don't get any support at all."

"Who normally does damage repair?" asked Ayako.

"Some schools have the automotive club do the work," said Hayley. "We don't have one here at True North. Not surprisingly, this problem has never come up before. It's the first time we've ever sustained battle damage."

"And we can't do it ourselves?"

"Not unless you're certified by the League to do repairs. It's a safety issue, eh?" Hayley placed a printout on the table. "This is the quote I got from our one-and-only local certified shop. It's ¥40,000."

Liza whistled. "That's pretty steep, b'y."

"Yeah, and that's after the League subsidy is applied," said Hayley.

"If we pool all our money, does that not work?" asked Justine.

"We can pay it off, but not for a few months," announced Hayley after some calculations.

"OK, maybe we ask for donations from the other students, oui?" suggested Justine.

Hayley looked unhappy. "They don't even know we exist, so why would they give us money?"

"We need a fundraiser," said Ayako. "We could do schoolwork efficiency and time management consultation, a calisthenics seminar…" She trailed off when she saw Hayley's expression.

"Or, y'know, we could have a bake sale," said Hayley.

"Baked cod!" said Liza happily.

"I can make a mean poutine," offered Justine.

Hayley put her head in her hands. "No! Cake! Brownies! Nanaimo bars!"

"Nanai-whats?"

"Augh!"

Ayako realized to her surprise that she was smiling.

"I gots an idea!" said Liza. "We can go fishin' on one of my family's boats and sell all the fish we catches!"

A look of horror passed over Hayley's face. "I worked on a fishing boat this past summer. They made me clean out where they gutted the fish… all those jawbones…"

"It's a nice boat, b'y!"

"I'm sure it is, eh, but…"

Ayako headed off the dispute. "Hayley-san, I will take care of any cleaning. How soon can we go?"

* * *

Five days later, they boarded the school ship's tender and rendezvoused with Liza's boat. Far from being an industrial trawler, it was a very swank sport fishing boat, probably used for the tourist trade. They stepped aboard the gleaming white vessel and were greeted by a man in a polo shirt and aviator sunglasses.

"Welcome aboard, Nishimura-san!" He eyed Liza warily.

Liza smiled. "Hello, Yamaguchi-san. Don't worry, my parents made me promise to act normally." She shot a meaningful look at Justine and Hayley. "These are my friends, Watanabe-san, Ishiguro-san and uh…"

"Nagumo," said Justine, bowing. "Thank you for letting us use your boat."

Ayako took note of her teammates' real names with interest.

"We've selected a good area and the lines are being made ready," said Yamaguchi. "We'll be there in half an hour."

The sensation of being at sea was, of course, nothing new to them, but it was still exhilarating to be bounding along over the waves with the wind and spray in their faces. The weather was overcast, but not threatening. Once at the fishing site they let their baited lines over the side and began to wait. Yamaguchi informed them that the fish finding equipment was indicating positive returns. "You will have good chances here," he assured them.

Ayako, who had never been fishing before, soon grew bored. It was nice enough on the boat, but handling the tackle was tedious. "I can't believe people do this for fun."

"Why go far away to fish, when you can be just as unsuccessful near home?" Hayley quipped.

"What are we fishing for, anyway?" asked Justine.

"Sea bass, tuna, maybe some billfish if we're lucky," said Liza.

The time passed slowly. Ayako began to think that they were wasting their time. How were they going to raise any money like this?

It was almost half an hour later when Liza suddenly sprawled face-first on the deck. "Help!" she cried, desperately clinging to the rod as it pulled her towards the side. The others ran to her aid and they all wrestled the rod upright. It was bent at right angles, the line taught as a piano wire.

"Is it snagged on something?" yelled Hayley.

"No! Look!" Liza pointed.

Over to port, a huge blue and silver fish, streamlined and sharp, surged out of the water and performed an acrobatic flip.

"Incredible! It's a marlin!" cried Liza. "You almost never see them this far north! Don't let it go!"

Yamaguchi and some of the crew hurried to help them. It took all their stamina and over an hour of fighting, but the marlin was eventually subdued and brought on board. The girls all collapsed into the cabin's plush chairs, exhausted. They were done. The boat turned for home.

They moored in port in the late afternoon. "We'll get a good price for this," said Liza. "The blue marlin is the most sought after game fish."

Their catch was taken off and hung up to be weighed. Several slips over, another fishing expedition was coming ashore. Made up of tourists, they had had an obviously unsuccessful day and looked disappointed. Justine eyed them speculatively. As they came up the gangplank from the dock, she strode over.

"Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen, but was the fishing not good today?"

There was a general shaking of heads.

"Perhaps you would like to pose with our fish? For only ¥500, we'll take your picture with it!"

Some of the tourists declined, looking amused, but others lined up and forked over the cash. Justine pulled an instant camera out of her backpack and began snapping pictures, alternating between it and the customers' own cameras.

Ayako stared at her. "Most impressive. She clearly has an entrepreneurial spirit."

"No kidding," agreed Hayley.

* * *

Counting all their money back at the school, Hayley was pleased to announce that they had more than enough for the repairs. "This will keep us going for a few more matches!"

Ayako took a deep breath. "About our next match… I would like to challenge Pravda."

"Is that because they beat you in the Championship?" asked Hayley.

"Yes," admitted Ayako.

Hayley and Liza shared a look. "As long as you don't make this some obsessive vendetta, I don't care who we fight, eh?" said Hayley at last. Liza and Justine nodded agreement.

"I understand your concern," said Ayako. "I merely wish to restore Kuromorimine's reputation. However, I also have to come to terms with my limitations as a commander. I seriously wonder if you would be better off with me acting as loader."

The others' jaws dropped.

"So what am I – wait, are you saying that I should be commander?" asked Hayley.

"You could," said Ayako. "I have seen how well you handle us all, Hayley-san." She ticked points off on her fingers. "You solved Justine-san's carsickness problem. You organized our repairs. You talked me out of my crisis of confidence."

Liza and Justine looked intrigued at this piece of news.

Hayley winced. "Yeah, except that now you're not confident enough to be our commander? Ayako, I'm really appreciative that you're nominating me, but you and I both know that I'm not the Nishzumi style's biggest fan, eh? If you want to prove your point, you're the best one to do it. Am I right?" she looked around at everyone.

"No argument here, b'y," said Liza.

"Hey, as long as I get to shoot at stuff…" said Justine, holding up both hands.

"I know, but-" protested Ayako.

"No buts. If you want to improve as a commander, you need to be the commander. No shying away." Hayley tempered her words with a smile. "Ayako, we are your crew, and we'll help you if you'll let us."

Ayako swallowed. "All right, I'll do it. Thank you - thank you for your support." She wiped her eyes quickly. Still, this would not be easy. She would have to get used to letting the others use their initiative. _Surely that doesn't fly too much in the face of the Nishizumi doctrine?_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I don't remember the training montages from the main series showing Ōarai's crews trying to hit moving targets. No doubt Miho had them practice against each other, like in the Anzio OVA, but Ayako &amp; co. don't have that option.

Poutine is a French-Canadian dish of French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. It is popular and available throughout Canada. Nanaimo bars are chocolate desserts from British Columbia.

I reduced the range Justine calls out in the last battle to something the 6 pounder and the 75 mm can handle.

I replaced "-sama" with "-san" throughout the story and italicized Ayako's thoughts. I added some more praise from Mika in the last chapter. She's not trying to be harsh, she just wants to maintain Continuance's reputation for "crazy good gunners". She's probably also mindful that Alena's miss left them wide open to a counterattack (although they had no way of knowing how good Justine's gunnery is).

On gunnery, it's definitely the norm in the GuP-verse for lots and lots of misses. It makes a mockery of Hayley's assertion that whoever shoots first, wins. According to the supplementary material, Continuance is meant to be better than that. The same material also says they are great in snow, but lost in the tropics. The desert might not be so bad for them, if they can stand the heat. The sand probably behaves somewhat like snow in terms of driving on it – a quick search on Google indicates that this is plausible.

I'm not British, I'm a genuine Canuck, but I read and watched a lot of British stuff growing up. Now that I'm living in the US, I find myself using a mixture of different spellings.

Warning! Katyusha is in the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_**In Which True North is Outnumbered**_

Katyusha glared down at them from atop Nonna's shoulders.

"So you call yourselves True North? Ha! Pravda is the real true north here! We are at least two degrees farther north than you mainlanders!"

She smiled haughtily. "However, Katyusha's generosity is as expansive as the steppes! You may have this match with us as we agreed… but you must fight both a T-34/76 and the KV-2!"

They knew all about Katyusha's personality, but that didn't make her any less grating. Up until this face-to-face meeting, negotiations had been done though Nonna, who, while not outgoing, had been professional and courteous. Ayako looked at the others. Hayley shrugged. It wasn't like they had much choice, and Ayako wanted this battle.

"Very well, we accept your… generous offer," sneered Ayako. "It will present an adequate challenge for a Nishizumi disciple, I suppose."

This caused a ripple of apprehension to cross Katyusha's visage. "You have studied under Mihosha!? Why was Katyusha not informed of this?"

"No, I am from Kuromorimine originally!" said Ayako angrily.

Katyusha relaxed. "A school both we and Ōarai have beaten! You seem to have forgotten to bring a heavy tank, though."

Ayako glared at her. "Can we get on with it?"

"Yes, yes, patience, pirozhki," said Katyusha. "Come on, Nonna."

"Do svidaniya," said Nonna as they left.

"Good luck… I guess?" said Hayley after them. They hadn't even shook hands.

Ayako, Hayley, Liza and Justine turned towards the Ram. It was fully repaired and sported a new coat of olive drab paint.

"Well, that's our original battle plan out the window. She really got you going there, eh?" observed Hayley as they took their positions.

Ayako frowned. "Yes, but that was at least partly deliberate. I firstly wanted her to know I'm fro- I was from Kuromorimine."

"So she'll know who beat her if we win?" asked Hayley.

"Yes. I also want her to think that I'm overconfident and easily provoked," replied Ayako.

"Oh yeah?"

"Once the match begins, we are going to get under cover and sit there."

Hayley nodded. "I get it. Pravda like to set ambushes for opponents who rush in."

"Indeed. They'll be expecting us to go on the attack, and my guess is that the more mobile T-34 will act as bait to try and lead us to the KV-2. My hope is that they will be beside themselves with impatience when we don't show up and will eventually come looking for us," said Ayako.

"And we'll ambush them."

"Precisely."

"Not bad, skipper. Let's hope it pans out your way."

Ayako still found it somewhat irksome to hide and wait for the enemy instead of hunting them down, but with neither quantity nor quality on their side she would just have to adapt to the reality of the situation. Her crew had put their trust in her, after all.

* * *

Once the flare and accompanying radio message informed them that the game had started, they drove to a copse of pine trees and parked within them. Hayley left the tank briefly and confirmed that they were well hidden. The battlefield was rolling, green hills and valleys with clumps of trees dotted about. A small, deserted village was located near the other end of the map.

And so they began the waiting game. Ayako had thought ahead this time, and they had plenty of water and snacks. There was some desultory chat, but they mostly sat at their positions in silence, concentrating on the view up the valley they were facing. Ayako found herself twiddling her thumbs, but the trip on the fishing boat had taught her the value of patience and she managed to hold off her boredom.

Still, nothing happened.

"Maybe they're on hold while Katyusha's takin' one of her naps," suggested Liza. "Lard tunderin', I hopes they shows up in the reckly."

Fifteen more minutes passed with no sign of the enemy.

"Ten more minutes, then we'll move out and take a look around," said Ayako. _Drat_, she thought. She would have to improvise from here on out, and that had not gone well before.

The sun was dipping lower in the sky. They had begun the match midafternoon, having travelled most of the day to meet with Pravda.

"Ready, driver?" asked Ayako after the time had elapsed. Liza replied in the affirmative. "All right, move out. Make your way to the top of the line of hills to the south."

They had just emerged from the trees when Justine shouted "Arrêtez, arrêtez, I see them!"

"Back up, back up!" cried Ayako. Liza reversed them back to their original position.

"Where?" demanded Ayako.

"Coming over the hill at eleven o'clock," replied Justine.

Ayako carefully poked her head out of the hatch and looked through her binoculars. A dark green blob had appeared on the northern ridgeline three kilometers away. _Too far to take a shot_, thought Ayako.

"It looks like the T-34, boss" said Justine.

"As we expected," said Ayako. "Let's hope they didn't spot us."

Looking ahead, they had trampled down the underbrush in front of their hiding place. Was the hole big enough for the other tank to see them?

The T-34 came down the slope diagonally, heading for the end of the valley where they lay in wait.

"Range two thousand meters," said Justine, looking at Ayako.

"They're still heading this way. Let them get closer," replied Ayako.

"Uh oh, b'y. The KV-2 just showed up," said Liza. "They's on overwatch up on the hill at ten o'clock."

Ayako grabbed the binoculars again. The KV-2 had emerged over the brow of the same ridgeline as the T-34. It rumbled slowly along the top, roughly paralleling the track of its compatriot.

The KV-2 would zero in on them if they attacked the T-34. Should they take a shot now? Keep lying low? Would Justine even be able to hit them?

Hayley saw the indecision on her face. "Skipper, the KV-2 is more of an artillery piece than a sniper. I reckon there'll be few near misses once we reveal ourselves, but we should be able to get away in time, eh?"

Ayako smiled gratefully. "All right. We'll stay put. Let the T-34 get as close as possible."

The T-34 began to sweep around the end of the valley, turret scanning. It approached their copse from the left. Ayako held her breath. The gun swiveled towards them. The head of the commander was just visible behind the upturned hatch cover.

"C'est tiguidou boss, for sure I got this," said Justine, tracking the turret around slowly. The other tank was crossing right through their field of fire. Its gun was still pointed their way. Ayako tried not to think about the fact that it could fire at any second.

The T-34 commander's head jerked suddenly and she gesticulated in their direction. They had been seen!

"Shoot!" cried Ayako.

Justine smiled grimly and pulled the trigger. The report was followed a moment later by the harsh crack of metal on metal. The enemy tank coasted to a halt in a cloud of smoke. The white flag popped into view and Justine pumped her fist.

"Driver, reverse! Get back!"

Liza sent them careening backwards. A few seconds later there was a high-pitched whine and the ground erupted in a blaze of fire near where they had been.

"Driver, head north and zig zag. I want to get to where we can deny them a good line of sight."

Every few minutes as they made their way up out of the valley another shell would scream in, but they remained unscathed. Ayako's hair and face were covered in dust from all the earth being flung up. Eventually, they had a hilltop in between them and the KV-2.

"Good shooting back there, gunner," said Ayako cheerfully. This was not shaping up to be the embarrassing defeat the last game had been.

"Bien sûr, boss," said Justine. To help her hit moving objects they had resorted to buying her an airsoft gun, attaching paper target boards to the sides of the Ram and then driving back and forth on their practice field while she shot at them. It appeared that it had been worth their while.

Hayley spoke up. "Skipper, I suggest we close in on them by driving along the slope of the ridgeline. I doubt they'll be able to aim at us with their lousy gun depression and if they move off the top of the hill where it's level they won't be able to traverse the turret."

Ayako nodded. "I agree."

Liza worked the Ram up to full speed and they hurtled across the incline that formed the northern boundary of the valley. Ayako was unbuttoned in the turret, looking out for the KV-2. She could now see the top of its oversized turret. As Hayley had forecast, it was having difficulty getting a firing solution. Next moment, it disappeared from view. It must have moved off the summit.

"I think they're retreating," said Ayako. "Driver, angle us up and over the top. We'll try and catch them on the opposite slope."

Cautiously, they edged over the crest. They need not have been so careful; the KV-2 was in headlong flight, running towards the village in the distance.

"Pursue them!" Ayako commanded.

The Ram was faster than the KV-2, but it still managed to disappear into the jumble of buildings before they could engage it. They slowed down as they reached the first cross-street. The houses of the village were fairly primitive. They had cinderblock walls, tin roofs and none were more than two stories high. The layout was a simple grid or dirt roads with two main streets crossing at right angles in the middle.

Ayako leaned far out of the hatch, trying to catch a glimpse of their quarry through the gaps between the buildings. Justine was traversing the turret one way and then the other as they passed each intersection. They approached the east-west main street, identifiable by its greater width and a line of telephone poles running along it.

"Stop!" yelled Hayley, just as they came up to the crossroads. The Ram lurched to a halt, the nose just protruding past the building on the corner. There was a boom and Ayako felt the wind on her face as a 152 mm shell streaked past in front of them.

"Driver, reverse!" she cried. They backed up to safety. Her first reaction was to chastise Hayley, but then she stopped herself. Hayley had saved them again. "We need to find out exactly where they are," she said.

"I volunteer to do a reconnaissance on foot," said Hayley.

Ayako nodded. "All right. We'll wait here until you get back. Don't let them see you. Hurry!"

Hayley leaped down from the turret and sprinted into a gap between two houses. Ayako had Liza move them to cover the intersection and they settled down tensely to await her return. Ayako was getting impatient. They needed to finish this.

After ten minutes, Hayley appeared by the side of the tank and climbed in. "They're dug in at the end of this street," she said breathlessly, indicating the main thoroughfare in front of them. "And I mean really dug in. It must be the ambush position they chose at the start. There's a building covering their rear and flanks and they've excavated a hull-down position. They have fields of fire to the front and sides."

"So they're a pillbox now," said Ayako.

"For sure, eh?"

Ayako took a deep breath and tried to think calmly. A few moments later, she had made up her mind. "Driver, take us in a wide detour around the enemy position. I want you to come up behind the building protecting their rear."

"OK, b'y!"

More time went by as they circled around, moving in the open ground outside the village. They re-entered the town and drove up to the building directly behind the KV-2. It was a larger structure with wings on either end forming a C, tailor made for walling off a defensive position. As Ayako had hoped, however, it was no more substantially built than any of the other buildings in the town. She closed the turret hatch firmly.

"Driver, do you think you can break through that wall in front of us?"

"Yes b'y!"

Hayley looked worried. "I don't know, skipper. With the state these buildings are in, that might be pretty risky."

Ayako waved her down. "Do it! Ramming speed!"

"Brace yourselves!" yelled Liza as the Ram accelerated.

The wall of concrete blocks facing them virtually exploded as the weak mortar gave way on impact. Individual blocks were shot across the interior space, some smashing through windows on the opposite wall. The thin wooden floorboards were ground to splinters under their tracks. The next section of wall in front of them simply fell over on contact in a cloud of grey dust as if it was giving up in the face of their onslaught.

"Driver, halt!" shouted Ayako. The unmistakable silhouette of the KV-2 was visible through the haze, shockingly close. The face of its commander was turned towards them, eyes wide as saucers.

Ayako was just opening her mouth to give the order to shoot when the upper story of the building fell on them.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I reduced the cost of repairs in the last chapter to the equivalent of $450. In the absence of any figures for actual sensha-dō repair costs, I used auto repair costs as a basis, which would make costs in the range of $300 - $800 plausible. It is also likely that the shop that does the repairs is gouging Ayako &amp; co., since they have a local monopoly. It is steep and True North is in a bad position. They don't have an automotive club to do the work, their school won't pay for it and they can't take advantage of any 'fleet maintenance' type programs with only a single tank. A school with a larger team would benefit from the economies of scale involved. Fortunately, Liza's family was willing to help out and even more luckily, they caught a blue marlin which is very valuable (the market value fluctuates, but searching online shows it can be $10/pound for a fish that averages between 200 and 400 pounds).

I updated the chapter descriptions for Chapters 5 and 6 to make them less spoiler-ish.

I can confirm that I was thinking of Admiral Chūichi Nagumo when I came up with Justine's real name.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_**In Which One Opponent Pays Tribute and Another is Averse**_

For what seemed a long time they just sat there, trying to take in what had happened. The engine had stalled and dust was pouring in through every opening, making them cough.

"Is everyone all right?" called Ayako.

"I'm fine, eh?"

"I's all right, b'y!"

"Maudine! I'm OK, somehow."

Ayako breathed a sigh of relief. The Ram had saved them. The ramshackle structure was no match for armour plating and the carbon coating. She tried pushing against the turret hatch, but it would not budge. Liza had no better luck with the hatch in the hull. The interior of the tank was twilight dark.

"Stay calm, everyone. They'll have a rescue crew dig us out," said Hayley.

"As long as we can still breath," said Ayako. "Dammit!" She pounded her fist on the wall of the turret.

"Are you OK, skipper?" asked Hayley, concerned.

"I failed again. I should have listened to you, and I didn't. I'm sorry."

"It didn't work out, but that was a pretty gutsy move. I don't think we had many other options," said Hayley.

"B'y, when there's a course of action that lets ya drive a tank through a wall, ya gots to take it," said Liza. "I've always wanted to do that."

Ayako couldn't help smiling.

After a pause, she said: "I know you must all think I'm an absurd martinet…"

Hayley and Justine nodded encouragingly.

"…but you are a good crew. You have met and often exceeded my expectations. I am glad you are all unhurt."

In the half-light, it seemed that Hayley and Justine looked pleased.

Justine cleared her throat. "I came here from a French-founded junior high school. That's why I talk like I do. All my classmates treat me like I'm crazy because of that."

The first thought that popped into Ayako's head was: _that's probably not the only reason they think you're crazy_. She admonished herself for being so uncharitable.

"I was really happy that someone actually asked me to join a club. Now that I'm with you guys, I feel more comfortable, like I fit in." Justine finished.

Did that mean that they were just as crazy? But Ayako was contented nonetheless.

They passed the time by drinking and eating what water and snacks they had left. Liza asked if they wanted to hear a joke:

"So, there's these two pilots, Garge and Glen. They's flyin' a small passenger plane on a commuter run when the tower diverts them to this other airfield. They's approachin' the runway and Garge says, Lard tunderin', Glen, has ya ever seen such a short runway? And Glen says, no I never has. So Garge says, Glen, as soon as we touches down, I wants ya to throw the engines into reverse. Glen says, OK, I be doin' that. And Garge says, then I wants ya to stamp on them brakes as hard as ya can. Glen says, OK, I be doin' that. So they land and Glen throws the engines into reverse and stamps on the brakes. And somehow they stops the plane in a cloud of smoke a few inches from the end of the runway. So they's sittin' there, happy to be alive. And Garge says, Glen, has ya ever seen such a short runway as that in all yer life? And Glen says, never, b'y. Then he looks out the side window and says, but Garge, look at how _wide_ it is!"

Hayley, who had probably heard the joke before, smiled indulgently. Justine guffawed loudly. Ayako sat there nonplussed. "I don't understand. How is the width of the runway relevant to the feat of airmanship they have just accomplished?"

Liza declined to elaborate.

It wasn't too much longer after that that they heard the rubble they were buried under being shifted. Eventually, light poured in welcomingly through the vision slits and a voice said: "You girls in the tank. Are you all right?"

When they replied in the affirmative, the hatches were opened and cool, fresh air poured over them. They climbed out carefully and were handed down by uniformed first responders. What had seemed like sunlight actually came from several glaring spotlights that had been set up overlooking their not-so-final resting place. Beyond them was the dark of the night, tinged red from the emergency vehicle flashers.

* * *

They were stretching their sore limbs when Katyusha and Nonna appeared, the former on ground level this time. She was also uncharacteristically subdued.

"Katyusha is glad you are unharmed," she said, shaking each of their hands. "I am sorry our match ended this way."

"Us too," said Ayako. "But it was a good battle. Congratulations on your victory."

Katyusha nodded firmly. "You fought well. Pravda will be happy to give you a rematch any time."

It struck Ayako that despite the fact that her goal of defeating Pravda was unfulfilled, this was the first time she could tolerate losing.

"Are we going to take her up on that?" Hayley asked her.

"Someday," said Ayako slowly. "But… right now I don't feel a pressing need to fight them again." _I have the respect of my opponents and my crew is safe_, she thought. _That's all I need for now._

Katyusha had one of her recovery vehicles tow the Ram out of what was left of the building and more of the Pravda girls helped to prep it for the trip home. "This will save us quite a bit of money," said Hayley as their tank was loaded onto the trailer of a MAZ transporter. They exchanged heartfelt thanks with Nonna and Katyusha and then climbed into the cab. They were able to sleep fitfully on the drive back to port.

* * *

A few days after their battle with Pravda, Ayako went for a walk. There was a green space at the midships section of the academy ship consisting of stands of Douglas fir, spruce and at the centre, a tall hill. A wooden-framed lookout tower had been erected at the summit and Ayako climbed the staircase to the observation gallery. Leaning on the rail, she looked aft to see the ship's enormous wake stretching away almost to the horizon. Turning in the opposite direction, she gazed at the cool blue of the steadily advancing ocean and let the fresh breeze wash over her. She had a decision to make.

The damage to the Ram hadn't been too severe, but the repairs had consumed most of their remaining funds. Ayako was not overly concerned by this. There was just one more battle she planned to fight.

But against whom?

The more she considered it, the less compelling her original objective now seemed. She'd been so sure about wanting to humble Miho and Ōarai. Miho, who had moved to a small school and reinvigorated the sensha-dō program there…

_Just like me._

What if she beat them? She remembered their reaction to winning the National Championship. They had been so happy, almost disbelieving that they'd won a famous victory. Would it make her feel good to see them downcast and dismayed? Would Miho be any less gracious in defeat?

_If my crew were in danger, would I abandon a match to help them?_

* * *

"Kuromorimine!?" exclaimed Hayley at their next club meeting. "Your old school? I figured we would be challenging Ōarai."

"No," said Ayako. "I have made my peace with losing to Ōarai. As you pointed out, Hayley-san, we are too much alike for me to hold their victory against them. Now, I just want us to be the best that we can be. Objectively, if the… original… Nishizumi style is superior, then it is only by facing Kuromorimine that we will have finally proven ourselves."

"That's good. I'm glad you were able to let go of that, eh?" said Hayley. "You seem a lot less stressed."

"I still want to hew as closely as possible to the Nishizumi doctrine," continued Ayako. "However, I am willing to be flexible when necessary. You can be sure that I shall listen to your advice and rely on your help."

"Okey dokey," said Hayley cheerfully.

"There's one other thing," said Ayako. "If we're going up against Kuromorimine, I want us to look the part. There's enough money left for some proper sensha-dō uniforms, and I have an idea for the design. If you agree, I'll get your measurements and order them."

There was general agreement. "What's the design, b'y?" asked Liza.

"I want it to be a surprise. It will be my gift to you."

"OK, skipper," said Hayley. "I'm curious to see what you come up with."

* * *

Actually challenging Kuromorimine was another matter. Maho was something of a remote and exalted figure for Ayako, and one who was a bit intimidating. She made several abortive attempts to telephone or e-mail before chickening out.

Several weeks later, an opportunity presented itself. True North's soccer team had a match with Kuromorimine scheduled and the two ships docked at the same port. Ayako was at a tank café at the behest of her teammates prior to the game when she saw Kuromorimine's commander and vice-commander sitting a few tables away. She put down her dessert fork determinedly.

"No more beating about the bush," she said to the others. "Let's go over and ask Nishizumi-san and Itsumi-san for our battle."

_It really helps to have Hayley, Liza and Justine here with me_, thought Ayako. Maho and Erika did not look up until the quartet was standing right beside their table. Ayako swallowed the lump in her throat and bowed. The others followed suit.

"Nishizumi-san, Itsumi-san, I don't know if you remember me, Ishiguro? I was the loader on Panzer four" she said, voice quavering ever so slightly.

"Ah, yes," said Erika after a moment. "Ishiguro-san. I trust you are well?" She contrived to sound polite, but not particularly interested.

"I am, thank you," said Ayako. "I have a favour to ask of you both."

A brief look of resignation appeared on Erika's face. "Go on."

Ayako ploughed ahead. "As you may know, I switched schools to True North. We have a small sensha-dō team, and we would like to gain experience. Specifically, we want to fight you."

_Not the best wording_, said a voice in Ayako's head.

Maho remained as stoic as ever, but Erika facepalmed. "Ōarai defeats us, and now some unknown little school like yours wants to try knocking us down a peg as well?"

Ayako took a step back in the face of Erika's displeasure. "No, I –"

Maho interjected calmly. "I would imagine that Ayako simply wishes to improve her team by learning from the best."

Erika paused. "Oh. Yes, I suppose so." She turned back to Ayako. "So, what is your lineup?"

"We have a Ram Mk. II," said Ayako.

"And…?" prompted Erika.

"That's all," said Ayako, her heart sinking.

Erika looked incredulous then laughed contemptuously. "One tank? You can't even enter the tournament with that! Let me give you a piece of advice: leave sensha-dō to the established teams. Why don't you try flower arranging instead?"

Ayako sagged. Justine was bunching her fists and glaring at Erika, barely restrained.

Maho cut quietly through the tension. "Isuzu-san from Ōarai, who destroyed my tank, is an accomplished flower arranger."

Erika twitched. "I – what? Commander, you can't mean-"

Maho stood up and bowed to Ayako and her crew. "Kuromorimine would be pleased to accept your challenge. Erika will arrange the details."

Erika was stunned. Ayako returned Maho's bow. "Thank you, Nishizumi-san, Itsumi-san! This is very much appreciated!"

She turned and ushered the others away urgently. "Come on! Let's go!" She threw some money on their table and headed for the door.

"But we'd only just started eating…," said Hayley looking at the array of cakes. Justine scooted over and began scarfing down her pastry as quickly as possible.

"Come on!" repeated Ayako, already halfway through the doorway. Justine made some placating gestures in her direction before finally finishing and rejoining them outside.

"Nishizumi-san was pretty impressive. But Itsumi-san…" Hayley shook her head.

"Itsumi-san takes the reputation of sensha-dō very seriously," said Ayako sadly. "She doesn't like weak and inexperienced teams blundering around and making the sport look bad, but I thought that she would put those feelings aside for someone who upholds the Nishzumi style. We may be small, but we are not weak!"

"She was some crooked, b'y," said Liza. "She treated ya like you'd never been her teammate."

"The Nishizumi style is all about strength," said Ayako. "I suppose it means you can't go soft over old loyalties or friendships."

"Friendship and loyalty are what make teams strong, b'y!" said Liza vehemently. "Ya only has to look at Ōarai to see that!"

Ayako had no response to this.

They did not encounter any more of her old acquaintances nor was Ayako motivated to seek them out. Later, they joined the throngs of their fellow students at the soccer match. Kuromorimine's team played with characteristic aggression and relentlessly wore down True North's side. The final score was five to two with Kuromorimine dominating the second half.

* * *

The next day, Ayako's cell phone rang. "Ishiguro-san? This is Itsumi. You will be fighting our Jagdtiger in three days at the Ōu Mountains battleground. We will begin at nine AM sharp. Be punctual."

"The Jagdtiger?" said Ayako with dismay.

"What's the problem?" Erika purred. "This is a win-win situation. Namely, we will win and you will get that experience you wanted." She hung up.

Ayako told the others that afternoon. There were serious faces all around.

"That's a big challenge, b'y," said Liza.

"Mets-en, but Ōarai destroyed that thing," noted Justine.

"We need to know if our gun will penetrate anywhere on that beast, eh?" said Hayley. "If not…"

"Yes," replied Ayako. "It's like what you said before about a King Tiger versus a 7TP." After some research, she announced: "Our six pounder will penetrate the 40 mm top armour on the Jagdtiger. Shooting it anywhere else is virtually pointless."

"So we need to get above it, just like Ōarai did with the Maus," remarked Hayley.

"We're fighting in a mountainous area," said Ayako. "So we ought to have chances."

They poured over the topographic maps to find locations where the slope was steep enough. Eventually, Ayako sat back and rubbed her eyes.

"There are places," she said, "but firstly, we don't know if the Ram can handle that kind of gradient and secondly, the satellite view shows little to no cover there."

"The Jagdtiger can kill us from kilometers away," said Liza. "We'd never even see it comin', b'y."

"Ha! Garde ҫa!" Justine exclaimed, pointing to a spot on the map. "Ōarai destroyed that thing," she repeated. "It fell into a ditch."

They all stared at the map, then at each other. "That could work," Hayley said slowly. "But it requires… unorthodox tactics."

Ayako smiled, showing her teeth. "In the Nishizumi style, winning is everything, remember?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

As previously mentioned, I'm assuming that the 6 pounder on the Ram is using standard AP shells and nothing fancy like APDS. I'm using artistic licence here since even with AP, the QF 6 pounder Mk. V might just be able to penetrate the side or rear casemate armour on the Jagdtiger at close range.

Ayako was the loader in Panzer four. I couldn't resist the pun.

In this chapter, Liza tells a "Newfie joke". They're generally not seen as derogatory, since Newfoundlanders claim that they invented most of these jokes themselves.

I downgraded Katyusha's fear to apprehension in the last chapter. I agree that her reaction was a bit too exaggerated, even for Katyusha. She also now refers to Miho as 'Mihosha'.

I like the idea of the Sensha-dō League subsidizing repairs and maybe other costs as well. They seem to have deep pockets and it would help to grow the sport. I reduced the repair costs in Chapter 6 to $400 and had Hayley mention that the subsidy has been applied.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_**In Which the Final Battle Begins**_

The evening before the match, Hayley, Liza and Justine showed up outside Ayako's dorm room. Hayley waved a video. "Skipper, you're formally invited to eat katsu and watch _The Devil's Brigade_ with us."

"The devil's brigade?" asked Ayako.

"It's an old war movie with real Canadian content," said Hayley. "Plus tanks!"

Ayako let them take her back to Liza's room. Liza, Hayley explained, had the best entertainment system, "'Cause her family's pretty wealthy." The room was decorated with assorted nautical items: fishing floats, a ship's wheel, even a fishing net hung artistically on one wall. They settled in front of the TV, each with a microwave katsu packet.

Ayako enjoyed this opportunity to relax with her crew. _My friends_, she corrected herself after a moment. _They are my friends, aren't they?_ The movie was entertaining, but she was compelled to point out that the 'German' tanks were in fact M47 Pattons. Hayley just shrugged.

"Well, this is it, our ultimate battle," said Ayako after the film ended. "When I mentioned it to my parents, they said they would come and watch. Then I remembered that I promised Kay-san that I would tell her about our other matches and it didn't seem right not to invite Mika-san and Katyusha-san after that. I even sent out a notice to our student body, so we might have an audience for a change."

"We're going up against the premier school in sensha-dō with one lucky win and two straight losses under our belt. Let's hope we can give them something to cheer about," said Hayley.

Justine produced a bottle of sparkling grape juice. "Alors, I know that we have a tough fight ahead of us and I wanted to thank you for inviting me to do all this fun stuff." She poured them each a tumbler full. "To our team and tomorrow's victory!" She downed her cup with panache then doubled over with a coughing fit when it went down the wrong way. Liza patted her on the back until it subsided.

"I too want to thank you all," said Ayako after the toast. "I have something for you… I was going to give them out tomorrow morning, but I might as well do it now. Just a moment!"

She ran back to her room and retrieved three garment bags. "These are the uniforms I designed," she said, handing them out back at Liza's room. "They were completed just in time."

Inside the bags were tall brown boots, a dark blue skirt and a bright red, high collared serge jacket with a Sam Browne belt. Hayley held hers up. "Gee, I wonder where you got the idea for these."

Ayako flushed. "Do you like them?" she asked anxiously. "The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are an iconic part of Canadian culture."

"Darn tootin'!" Hayley replied happily. "Good job, skipper!" Liza and Justine echoed her praise.

Ayako glowed. "With you as my crew, I don't believe there's any way we can lose," she said with conviction.

"Y'know, I think you'll find that the number of ways we can lose is pretty much limitless," said Hayley, grinning.

* * *

Rain fell heavily that night and by morning the ground they were to fight on was soft and muddy. Hayley handed around a thermos of coffee as they waited at the assembly area. They yawned and tried to make themselves feel awake and alert. They had been up for hours now and it was still only eight thirty.

The thumping sound of rotors sounded in the distance. A small helicopter appeared on the horizon and sped towards them. Ayako shaded her eyes and stared at the approaching aircraft, wondering who on Earth it could be. As it got closer, she spotted Saunders' logo on the side of the fuselage. The antiquated looking flying machine slowed to a hover and slowly settled onto the ground. The engine was cut and Kay leaped out of the cockpit and ran towards them, bent double under the still rotating blades.

"Hi Canucks! Thanks for the invite!"

Brittney turned out to be the pilot. She joined them a moment later, chewing on the inevitable piece of bubblegum.

"You can fly that thing?" asked Hayley.

"I'm a woman of many talents," said Brittney laconically. She looked them up and down. "Nice uniforms."

"Ayako, I think it's really cool that you chose to go up against a team as strong as Kuromorimine," said Kay. "I'll be cheering for y'all! Go True North!" She punched one fist in the air.

The next to arrive were Mika and Alena, followed by Katyusha and Nonna. Both groups eyed each other askance and maintained a frigid distance.

"We are not on good terms with Pravda," explained Mika to Ayako. "I heard you fought them earlier. Too bad you didn't win."

"Good luck, True North!" said Alena. "You have a challenging battle ahead of you, but I think you can do it!"

"You of all people are familiar with your opposition. You may be able to use that to your advantage," said Mika.

Katyusha's advice was more straightforward: "Crush them under your tracks, pirozhki!"

They weren't the only spectators. As time wore on, more and more of their fellow students showed up to watch. _No pressure_, thought Ayako sardonically, but it was nice to have this much support. It had often seemed to her that everyone was rooting against them when she was with Kuromorimine.

"Ayako!" She turned to see her mother and father striding vigorously towards her.

"We wanted to wish you luck," said her mother. "Are these your friends?"

Ayako made the introductions. Her parents seemed entirely unfazed by her crew's adopted accents.

"I'm very pleased to see that you have adapted so well to True North," said her father. "You never seemed to have close friends at your old school. Your mother and I always thought Kuromorimine was rather cold and inflexible."

_So that's why they wanted me to move_, thought Ayako. She waved goodbye as they joined the other onlookers.

At nine o'clock precisely, Erika and the Jagdtiger's commander arrived in a Kübelwagen. Ayako held herself ramrod straight as she marched out to meet them. _I want some respect from Erika_, she thought. _She can't just write me off because I left._

Erika was affecting to look bored. "Let's get this farce over with quickly, shall we?" The single judge introduced the combatants and Ayako and the Jagdtiger commander bowed, shook hands and wished each other luck.

Hayley appeared by her side. "Everything is in order, commander. We're ready to go," she said crisply. Ayako stared at her. Commander? Had she heard that right?

"Very good. Mount up," she replied after barely a pause.

"At once, commander!" Hayley clicked her boot heels together and marched back towards the Ram like she was on parade. Erika stared at them sourly, then revved the Kübelwagen's engine. The Jagdtiger commander nodded to Ayako, got in, and they drove away.

Ayako took her place in the commander's seat and put on her headphones. "Thanks for that,' she said to Hayley. "The heel click was a bit over the top, though."

"Sorry, eh?"

* * *

The problem was, their starting point was in the wrong place. They had known beforehand that they had no control over where they began. Now they needed to find a way to get to map reference 2753 in one piece.

"Do you know the Jagdtiger commander?" asked Hayley. "What is she likely to do?"

"I've never met her," admitted Ayako. "But I already know what she's going to do. Erika wants to finish this quickly and they have nothing to fear from our tank, so she's going to come straight at us right away."

She pointed to her map. "So…we'll conceal ourselves in these woods here, on the direct route between us, then watch for them go past on their way to our starting point. Once we know they're safely behind us, we'll continue to point 2753 and wait for them there."

"Sounds good, commander."

Ayako smiled at Hayley. "Don't you mean 'skipper'?"

Hayley laughed. "Anything you say, skipper."

They had to move fast. Liza kept up maximum speed and the Ram tore over the muddy ground. _No danger of a dust cloud to reveal our position today_, Ayako thought. They arrived at the trees without seeing any sign of the Jagdtiger. Liza eased them in between the tree trunks carefully, trying not to knock any of the smaller trees down. They scraped in between two oaks and came to rest in a tiny clearing.

"Engine off!" said Ayako. She leaped down and started dragging fallen branches towards the tank. Hayley and Justine followed her.

"Try and pile on as much as you can," called Ayako. "Enough to break up the silhouette." They leaned the larger branches on the hull and threw the lighter detritus on top.

"Écoutez!" said Justine suddenly. "I hear something!" Ayako motioned for quiet. Sure enough, there was the sound of tracks squealing and clanking and underneath that, the heavy growl of a powerful engine.

"Get back inside! These uniforms are far too conspicuous!" whispered Ayako urgently. They scrambled back into the Ram, trying not to rattle the hatch doors.

The noise from the other tank grew louder and louder. They huddled inside the Ram, breathing slowly, not daring to touch anything. Ayako ever-so-carefully eased her head out of the hatch, and nearly fell over in shock. A squirrel was perched on the turret roof directly in front of her. She clamped both hands over her mouth to muffle a squeak. Next moment, the squirrel was gone, bounding off the tank and into the bushes. Ayako shook off the surprise and stared through the foliage.

The rumbling had reached a crescendo, but she only had the briefest glimpse through the leaves of dark brown metal as the Jagdtiger passed them. The volume of the noise began to drop off. Ayako relaxed. _After all, if we can't see them, they can't see us_, she reasoned. She dropped back inside and gave the others the OK sign.

After another few minutes, the sound of the Jagdtiger was a faint background murmur. Ayako had Liza restart their engine and they gingerly backed out of the woods, shedding their camouflage as they went. "Head north-north-west," she ordered. "We'll go through the pass at point 2850." They jolted towards the craggy peaks in the distance.

Ayako stood in the hatch with her hands on the doors to either side, enjoying the wind in her face. A thought struck her out of nowhere and she giggled.

"I get it now! I get the joke!" she said over the intercom. "The pilots landed on the runway crossways, that's why it was so short but so wide!"

Her earphones crackled. "About time ya figured that out, b'y," said Liza good naturedly.

Ayako turned to glance back the way they had come. The dark, angular shape of the Jagdtiger was squatting in the open field beyond the woods like a nightmare, turning to face them.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I fixed the naming/honourifics in the last chapter's tank café scene and changed "rang off" to "hung up". I made some changes to make meeting Maho and Erika in the tank café less contrived.

The enmity between Pravda and Continuance reflects the fact that Finland and the Soviet Union were belligerents during the Winter and Continuation wars.

Good point about the pacing. I think that rushing things is one of my major flaws as a writer. I may try a rewrite at some point to address this.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_**In Which Perilous Travels Ensue**_

Ayako was transfixed as the high velocity 128 mm gun slowly lined up on them. They were right out in the open, exposed! The Jagdtiger must have looped back around the woods after passing them, whether by luck or judgement. Could they have been seen? They had taken such pains to remain invisible-

_No! Stop this!_ Ayako realized she had frozen up again. _Not this time_, she thought grimly, snapping out of it. "They're behind us! Evasive action!" she screamed into the microphone.

Liza threw them into a left turn just as the Jagdtiger fired. The round slapped past them to the right, impacting a fraction of a second later. A geyser of soil erupted out of the ground, showering the Ram with nodules of dirt.

She held on for dear life as Liza jerked them this way and that. Ayako started mentally counting the seconds between shots and alerting Liza when the next volley was due. Luckily, the Jagdtiger was slow to reload and every moment they were extending the distance. After a couple more near-misses, the Jagdtiger ceased firing and began pursuing them.

Up ahead, the gap between two rocky outcrops resolved into a narrow trail running up the side of a hill on their right. Liza slowed the Ram and they began to mount the track carefully. The surface was packed dirt and gravel, only around five meters wide. The slope above and below them was mostly scree, dotted with larger granite boulders and some forlorn tufts of vegetation. There was no cover and no room to maneuver.

Ayako looked back behind them. As they gained elevation, she was able to see the Jagdtiger snorting exhaust fumes as it crossed the meadow behind and below them. If it got close enough for a shot, it was all over.

The track gradually curved to the right as it approached a saddle joining the peaks to either side. The enemy was no longer in view.

"Skipper," said Hayley. "We might be able to damage this road enough with our tools to slow them down, eh?"

Ayako considered this. Buying some time would be worthwhile. "Stop the tank," she ordered. "Driver, stay put and be ready to move out. Justine, Hayley, we three will work on the road. Be quick!"

They leapt down and grabbed the picks and shovels off the rear deck. Hurriedly, they attacked the surface of the track, flailing away with their implements.

"It's too hard packed! I can barely dent it!" cried Hayley.

"Try chipping away at the edge!" Ayako called back. Justine, meanwhile, had climbed the upper slope and was swinging wildly with her pickaxe, trying to cause a landslide.

The now familiar clanking, groaning rumble became audible, getting louder and louder. The ground started to tremble. Ayako felt the primitive fight or flight reaction trying to kick in. She glanced quickly around. A small pile of rubble spilled down on one side and barely a half-meter carved away on the other. This wasn't working.

"Get back to the tank!" she yelled. "Forget the tools, just go!"

They dropped everything and ran frantically back to the Ram. Ayako was still scrambling through the hatch when Liza put them in motion.

"Sorry, skipper," groaned Hayley. "Now we're worse off."

"Never mind," said Ayako, peering backwards. "It was worth trying."

"This kind of reminds me of _Killdozer_," said Hayley.

"What?"

"It's an old TV movie about a bulldozer that gets possessed by an alien entity," said Hayley. "Then it goes on a rampage on an island and hunts down the construction crew."

"How do they stop it?"

"They end up electrocuting it."

Ayako grimaced. "I don't think the Sensha-dō League would support that tactic."

"Probably not, eh?"

They passed over the saddle just as the Jagdtiger came into view around the curve behind them. In front, the trail crossed over to the opposite hillside and descended along its flank, running straight and true for a good kilometer.

It grew darker as they moved into the shadowed side of the pass. Liza was driving as fast as she dared down the track. Ayako stared behind them and saw first the Jagdtiger's gun barrel then the dark mass of the whole vehicle appear, limned against the bright sky. It oriented itself inexorably to face the vulnerable rear of their tank. _They're not in any hurry_, thought Ayako. _They have all the time in the world to aim, with us stuck here going in a straight line._

"They've got us in their sights," she reported. "I'm sorry everyone. I think we're done for."

There was a short pause.

"Want me to try somethin', b'y?" asked Liza.

Ayako didn't hesitate. "Do it!"

"Hang on tight!"

Liza braked quickly, then turned the Ram to face the slope dropping away beside them. _Uh oh_, thought Ayako. They tipped over the edge just as the Jagdtiger fired. The explosion sprayed them with rock fragments as they began the drop.

The loose stones under their tracks were wet and slick from the night's rain. They slid down, gathering speed quickly, more sled than tank. Ayako held on for dear life. The larger boulders dotting the hillside flew past.

"Look out ahead!" screamed Ayako as one particularly large rock loomed up in front of them.

"I sees it, b'y!" Liza yelled back. Ayako realized that their brakes were already hard on. At the last minute, Liza engaged the drive on one side and managed to turn them to the left. The rock caught the right rear corner of the tank a glancing blow, spinning them back clockwise.

"Ow!" cried Ayako as she hit her nose on the hatch rim. _Please don't deploy, please don't deploy,_ she thought, but the white flag did not appear. Now they were skidding sideways. If their treads dug in, the tracks could be ripped off or they might flip completely over. Liza floored the accelerator and jerked them straight again. Another rock just missed them. At last, they reached the bottom and the Ram began to slow. One last monolithic boulder lay dead in their path. Liza slewed them from side to side desperately.

"Brace for impact!" Ayako closed her eyes.

When she opened them, they had finally halted their mad rush, inches from the granite. She took several deep breaths.

"Well done, driver."

Liza took a while to reply. At last: "Thank you. I mean, thanks b'y!"

High above, the Jagdtiger backed out of view.

Liza got them moving again and they threaded carefully through the debris towards the flat grassland beyond the pass. Ayako kept a sharp lookout, but the Jagdtiger did not reappear. It took them several detours, but at last they approached their objective at point 2753. Up ahead, alongside the winding, tree-lined road they were travelling on, a cornfield sloped gently down towards a cut where a disused railway line ran. The sides of the cut were almost vertical and easily ten feet high. Just like a ditch…

It had taken them a long time to get there. Somehow, it was not surprising in the least to turn a bend and find the Jagdtiger in the middle of the road blocking their path.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I fixed Alena's half-hearted encouragement in the last chapter.

For this battle, I chose to deliberately not focus on the Jagdtiger's crew to try and make the tank itself the opponent and make it seem like an impersonal, implacable force.

Glad to hear that I've inspired someone else's work!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_**In Which the Battle and the Story are Ended**_

"Enemy ahead!" called Ayako.

Hayley turned to her, face pale. "Now what, skipper, do we pull back?"

Ayako stared at the Jagdtiger with resolve. "No retreat. We're where we need to be and it's time to settle this. Gunner, get their attention!"

"D'accord! At last you ask me to shoot!"

Justine fired and the six pounder shell struck sparks off the Jagdtiger's armour.

"Driver, head into the cornfield!"

They dodged to the right as a shot from the Jagdtiger sliced by and hit a large oak which, shorn through at the base, toppled over dramatically. Then they were in the midst of the cornstalks, ploughing a path through them.

The Jagdtiger followed them. Looking to the rear, Ayako could see the heads of the corn being scythed down in front of it.

"Driver, we need to stay just ahead of them and lure them on. Zig zag and use the corn for cover!"

Now they would have to be careful and turn at just the right moment.

Justine rotated the turret and sent a shot back at their pursuer. Despite the turmoil of collapsing crops blocking her line of sight, they heard the flat clang of a hit. The Jagdtiger became briefly visible again as it crossed their trail, then they swung left and it was hidden again.

A swath of corn was suddenly blown flat as the Jagdtiger fired, but the round went wide.

They jolted back to the right and suddenly the Jagdtiger smashed through a line of stalks and was right on their tail. Ayako turned to face forwards. She could just see over the corn tassels ahead. Just a few rows left.

"Get ready!"

They burst out into the open. There was an interval of mud and weeds that terminated in an insubstantial wire fence overlooking the cut.

"Now, driver! Turn, turn, turn!"

Liza yanked the steering levers. They drifted sideways, tracks clawing up the soggy ground. The side of the Ram brushed the fence, snapping two of the posts. The treads bit, and they curved away from the abyss. Liza slammed on the brakes and spun them back around to halt facing the cut. Ayako cried out in frustration. The Jagdtiger had somehow stopped in time.

"It didn't work! They didn't go over the edge!"

"Jeez, that stuff only works in the movies," Hayley complained.

The Jagdtiger's tracks ground into life and it turned towards them. The tip of the128 mm gun lowered.

"Driver, reverse!" yelled Ayako. Liza put her foot down and they rattled backwards just as the Jagdtiger fired. The explosion was right in front of them, a tidal wave of flame and brown dirt.

"Blech!" Liza had received a face full of mud through her open viewing port.

Ayako was watching the Jagdtiger's tracks. "Driver, I want you to move perpendicular to them and make it hard for them to aim at us."

"Yes, b'y!"

Liza engaged the gears with a clash and accelerated forwards. The Jagdtiger remained in place, dragging itself around to aim at them. The drive train squealed and groaned as it fought to keep them in its sights. Suddenly, there was a scream of shearing metal and the overburdened right track on the Jagdtiger snapped. It lurched to a halt, the loose segments flopping uselessly over the suspension.

The Ram eased to a standstill, safely out of the line of fire.

"We've immobilized them, eh?" said Hayley. "They can't get out to fix the track with us here."

Ayako's adrenaline was surging. _Stalemate_, she thought. _They can't kill us and we can't kill them. _

_Unless…_

_Time for us to be Killdozer._

"Driver! Push them into the cut!"

"What, b'y?"

"Use our tank to shove them in!"

"The transmission'll blow, b'y!"

Ayako looked around at her crew. "Does anyone have a better plan?" No one spoke until Hayley smiled and said "Your idea works for me, skipper."

"Let's do it, boss!" said Justine.

"OK," said Liza. "Here goes." She drove them up to the side of the Jagdtiger. In low gear, the Ram butted against it with a crunch of metal on metal. The Jagdtiger did not budge.

"Give it all you've got, driver!"

The pitch of the Ram's engine rose as Liza put her foot down. The ground beneath the two tanks was churned up into a mess of muddy turf. Ever so slowly, the Jagdtiger began to slide sideways. The Ram's tracks alternately slipped and gripped as it labored to move the behemoth. Inch by inch they pushed forwards. The Continental R-975 roared. The air around them became thick with blue-grey exhaust smoke. An acrid burning smell began to pervade the air.

"She can't take much more, b'y!"

"Keep going!"

If they burned out their transmission, they were done. Ayako repeated the mantra over and over: _keep going, keep going, keep going-_

She heard a twanging sound as the fence wire snapped. The nose of the Jagdtiger rose up in the air as it slipped diagonally over the precipice and skidded backwards down the rough side of the cut. There was a sickening crunch as the back of the tank destroyer impacted on the train rails and it came to rest with its gun pointing impotently into the sky.

Ayako released her white-knuckle grip on the hatch combing. The Ram's engine slowed to an idle and the smoke cloud gradually dissipated.

A few moments later, the white flag finally deployed.

Ayako keyed the microphone for the last time. "We did it. Good job, everybody."

* * *

It had been a long day. They sprawled or sat on the ground next to the Ram, looking more like casualties than the victors of a battle. Both the tank and their once immaculate uniforms were now splattered liberally with mud.

"I told you she's a good tank," said Hayley, patting one of the Ram's wheels fondly.

"The best," smiled Ayako. She was bone-weary. All she wanted to do now was put her head down and sleep.

The contingent from Kuromorimine walked over, Maho leading them. They bowed as Ayako, Hayley, Justine and Liza came to their feet as quickly as they could.

"Congratulations," said Maho. "You fought skillfully and won against the odds."

"Thank you, Nishizumi-san," said Ayako, a song in her heart. "It is because of your inspiration that my friends and I were able to achieve victory." She bowed low.

Maho seemed amused. "Thank you, although I wonder if perhaps your victory was inspired more by my sister than myself."

Ayako was dumbfounded and could only gape as they walked away.

Liza clambered back into the driver's compartment and called to them after a moment. "I's lookin' at the transmission, b'ys. She's not good. I don't think it'll get us home."

"Dang it, I don't want to spend the night in a field!" Hayley wailed.

Erika, trailing along at the back of Kuromorimine's group, stopped and turned. She looked at them for a long moment.

"Come with me," she sighed. "You can ride in the Kübelwagen. We'll take care of your tank later."

She dropped them off at the port and they thanked her profusely. She brushed this off. "Just try not to humiliate your old school any more, OK?"

They slept all the way back to the academy ship and had to be carried aboard.

* * *

A week later, Ayako, Justine and Liza were sitting in the hangar watching Hayley zip around on her rollerblades. After the battle, they had received congratulatory messages from Saunders, Continuance and Pravda, which Ayako had printed and mounted on the hangar wall. The Ram was back where it belonged, retrieved courtesy of Kuromorimine, but the transmission was still in dire straits.

_Maybe this is it_, thought Ayako. _In a few more months I'll be graduating. We won against Kuromorimine, so anything else would be downhill from here, right? I've made new friends, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. It's a pity that this is probably the end of True North's sensha-dō club, though…_

A knock on the hangar door made everyone's head turn.

Outside were three first year students. One of them stepped forwards, looking nervously at them through large glasses.

"Hi, I'm Laura and this is Kim and Roberta. We watched your battle with Kuromorimine last week, and uh, we wondered if we could maybe join your club, eh?"

Ayako looked at the others. One by one, they nodded. "Welcome aboard," she said, smiling. "Liza, do you think your family will let us use their boat again?"

Maybe she wouldn't stop riding tanks quite yet.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I ended the story on a hopeful note, with some new members to at least carry on the club, but it will take a lot of money and new members to make them a viable force in sensha-dō.

Many, many thanks for the reviews. This story still has flaws, but I feel that it has improved significantly from the draft I started with thanks to your feedback. Theralion, if I get around to a rewrite I'll address the issues you brought up, especially the pacing and developing the opposing teams. I think that tying the POV exclusively to Ayako didn't do me any favours regarding the latter. For now, I'll do a final cleanup before I mark this fic completed.


End file.
